Vocaloid A Wonderful Reality
by Barzini
Summary: Imagine how the world would be like if Vocaloid really existed with us? A story of friendship and harmony, and most importantly, our vocaloids.
1. Chapter 1

Ever since Crypton Future Media and education in the nation of Singapore fused as one, we were all given one friend when we were 15 , the beginning of Crypton Future Media education. A friend that fits your personality, but not quite like a friend, no! A friend slightly more curious, a friend slightly more interesting, but a friend less like flesh and blood. Oh, and by the way, my name is Barzini.

Yes, for those of you whose nerves have been tingling when I mentioned Crypton Future Media, yes, you heard my inner mind loud and clear. I was referring to Vocaloids being given to us, but no, it was not easy getting one either.

The music school run by Crypton had strict criteria for entry. The School of the Future, they rightly called it, having perfected the art of allowing hologram vocaloids to look solid, and following you everywhere, wherever there is light. Their criteria, was strict, yes, but the there was only one condition for entry, which made it ironic. Wouldn't just one condition make it extremely difficult to enter?

I still remember what it said when a nationwide effort to get potential students ended up in my mailbox.

_Come down to the School of the Future for an amazing opportunity to join the corporation in creating music for the world! _

_Terms of entry: Knowing something called, "Music"_

So? What do I have to lose? I was STILL fourteen then. I didn't know how to play musical instruments, I wasn't in a choir. Pretty much screwed right? But for a vocaloid? Hell… You'll need an army to stop me from going.

The time available for interview and audition was from 7am in the morning to 6pm, so, being the computer geek, I packed up my Alienware laptop, boarded the unusually packed bus at 5am and reached the school by 5.30am, and when I was there, I was awed by the sheer grandeur of the school.

It was covered in a huge glass like structure, and when you walk into this glass structure, the air smelled different. Fresh air. Clean air. And it was relatively cool compared to outside of the structure. The areas beside the paved path was covered with grass and trees, and sheltered pavilions, now occupied by anxious looking auditionees, holding a musical instrument of some sort, or were training their vocals. Me? Just clutching that laptop. I entered the school, and queued to get a tag, and once I reached the registration section, a rather old man looked up at me, gripping his pen.

"So, what are your musical talents?" The old man croaked, and I shook my head in response.

"What do you mean?" He asked, and I shook my head again.

"I do not have any musical talents." I replied softly, and I swear I heard someone giggle behind me, and muttered something along the lines of, "… Wasting his time, this dude."

"Oh? What is that you are holding?" The old man gestured, and I held it up, removed the protective casing over the laptop.

"My laptop." I answered proudly, stroking its sleek red cover, and the old man held out his hands, and muttered, "If I may?"

"Uhm… Sure…" I replied, handing my laptop over to him, and he put on his spectacles, and lifted it up slightly and examined whatever specifications the laptop had below, and he turned on my computer, and when it reached the password screen, he turned it to me, and with a kind smile, gestured at my keyboard.

"If you please, young lad."

"Oh, sure." I rapidly keyed in the password to my computer, and turned it back to the old man, who gave a kindly smile, and turned it back to him, and I watched him type a few keys, and click a few things, but he pushed it back to me, and he smiled.

"Please go straight into the audition."

This statement took me completely off guard, and I stood there dumbfounded for a moment. I just had to make sure, taking back my laptop, my mouth opened and asked-

"Whoa whoa… Really? Or is that really trying to tell me please go out now?" I asked, and the old man did not reply. He merely shrugged, and a man at the side, wearing a shirt that said STAFF at the back, a Caucasian, gave me a pat me on the shoulder and steered me across the red line that was the no-go zone for most auditionees yet.

"Can you explain to me why I could go in?" I asked, and he cast me a weird look.

"Well, something you have on your computer interested the selecting committee I guess… Well not that everyone else won't be able to audition anyway… You're just been given a golden ticket, boy… A golden ticket…" He kept on repeating the last two words, and he took me through the door, down a grand winding staircase, carpeted red, with glass chandeliers hanging overhead, and to the left, it was paneled with glass, giving a great view across the entire school campus.

"Wow…"

Xxx

After what seemed like forever in my slight panic and excitement, I reached a great wooden door, and the man gave me a slight push forward, and winked before he left.

Taking my breath, I knocked and waited, and after a few moments…

"Come in."

I opened the door and walked in, and saw a chair in the centre of the room. In front, was a group of men dressed in suits, seated at a long table, flipping through papers, and I stood there, unsure of what to do next.

"Please take a seat." The man in the centre said, smiling, a Japanese accent hung in his words, and I bowed a little before sitting down.

"So, we are going to ask all of you a few questions. We want your most truthful answers. Is that understood?" He said slowly, his eyes staring, fixed at me, un-nerving me a little, but I nodded anyway.

"Now, we went through your laptop contents as reviewed by the selection committee, you seem to have a voice tuner and a lot of video editors… Correct?" He asked, looking down at his paper and I nodded.

"Now, what is your favourite colour by the way… Wait, sorry. Tone of colour." A man in the far right asked, and I considered it for a moment.

"Something light and cheerful!" I replied enthusiastically.

"Can you please play a random piece of music from your laptop please!" A man in the far left asked, and I hurriedly exited my computer from standby mode, and went to Windows Media Player, and selected, "Shuffle"…

"And play!" I said a bit too loudly, and my face reddened slightly.

The song, "Always Look At The Bright Side Of Life" by Monty Python came on, and I could almost smash my laptop at this point of time. They definitely wanted something intelligent! I am so… Screwed…

"What do you think of music?" The man in the centre asked, and I cocked my head a little, slightly unsure of what to say. Truthful they say…

"I don't know really. I mean. Music is there for a reason. We are only here to enjoy it, are we supposed to do anything else with music? If you're looking for a model essay, I can give you 5 pages. But you want the truth right?" I replied.

The man in the centre nodded, and took out his own laptop and keyed something into it.

"Now, if you do not mind, could you please play something with your laptop? I am sure you compiled some videos before?" He smiled, and I nodded, and as if on cue, the door behind me opened and someone pushed in a projector complete with all the cables needed.

As I was plugging in the video cables to my laptop, the man added-

"Please. At random as usual."

I bowed a little, and when I finished connecting the system, I went through my video clips and clicked the first one I saw.

"_Doo__doo__doo__doo__doo__doo!__Doo__doo__doo__dee~!__"_

I hit my face with my palm, and let out a small groan. This was a random compilation of me playing Beat It by putting sounds from my ancient Gameboy.

I raised my head slightly to look at the screen and saw myself hitting the gameboy and doing a fail moon walk, and later, me playing Mario Go Kart and laughing my head off as I kept falling off that irritating winding part in the Mine where the road is narrow, still to that tune, and I felt like throwing myself off the building at that very moment.

"Thank you. That would be enough." The man in the centre said, and smiled.

I returned to my seat, and bit my lips, as I awaited their verdict. Suddenly, the computer that the man in the centre had made a voice sounding from it-

"Hello Barzini!"

I raised my head, alarmed, and saw a girl exiting the computer screen which literally made my jaw fall open, at first, she was just a bit more than pixels, but it started to "solidify" and her hair was a colour of turquoise, and she was smiling broadly, her arms wide open, the colours all clearly sharp, and almost life-like.

"Hug!" She cried out, and I jumped up, and hastily got back, knocking over the chair I was seated on.

"WHOA! WHOA! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" I shouted, hugging my laptop, and pointed at her or it or whatever it was to me then.

"Who, what, who are you?" I said, slightly out of breath, wiping perspiration with the back of my hand, and I stared at the person or thing that had just come out of a computer screen.

The girl that had just exited the computer screen stood where she was, looking at me, her face an expression of complete surprise, and her arms fell to her side.

"Barzini, this is your vocaloid. I assume you're getting scared because you know who she is and how she got out of a computer screen?" The man in the centre grinned.

"Well… She is Hatsune Miku, that is kind of obvious to all of us? But how… Did she walk out of that computer screen?" I said, slightly out of breath, keeping a wary eye on Miku, and trying to maintain eye contact with the man, who did not look the least disturbed that a vocaloid had just CLIMBED OUT of his computer screen.

"Well, it's just a way of presenting Hatsune Miku to you. Actually, you do know that now, we perfected the so-called 'art' of allowing Vocaloid to be with you as long as there is light right?" He asked, and I nodded in response. Miku was now swaying about the spot, humming a tune.

"Do you get me?" He said, and I tried to process what he was trying to say. A way of presenting Hatsune Miku to me? So it meant that I do get into the school, and they just decided to give me a bloody good shock for the fun of it.

"Yes, I do…" I nodded, and the man smiled.

"Please go to the processing counter out back. You're the second person to enter that room today." He smiled, and I bowed a little, and as I was about to move to the door, the man stopped me.

"Aren't you taking Miku along?" He asked, and I paused in my tracks, and turned around to look at Hatsune Miku, dress in her school-like costume, her long turquoise hair drifting, and I finally let a smile slip across my lips.

"Come along!" I said loudly, gesturing at her, and she practically skipped towards me, making the sound, "PYON!" every time she skipped, and I couldn't help but laugh a little as I made to the door, and entered, where there was another girl, and another vocaloid, whom I recognized as Kaito, both seated beside each other.

The girl saw me and waved, and I waved back, and Miku was waving enthusiastically at Kaito, who smiled a little and waved back, and as I was about to sit down beside Katio, Miku forced herself "through" me, effectively sitting at my place, and giving me a cheeky grin, and patting the seat beside her.

"Sit here, Barzini!" She said in an extremely high voice, and I obeyed.

"Sorry if this looks wrong, but if you don't mind…" I tried placing my hand on her shoulder, like a good old pat on the shoulder, but my hand went right through, and I jumped. This was going to take some getting used to.

"So, how old are you, Barzini?" She asked, swinging her legs up and down, looking at the floor. She was almost human-like in terms of behavior.

"15 this year!" I replied, and she clapped happily and laughed.

"I'm 16! Nice to meet you, Barzini! Hug!" She threw her arms around me, not knowing how to hug a hologram, I just hugged her like how I would hug a normal human being, but taking care that my hands do not sink through her.

"Aww that's sweet." I looked up and saw that the girl had spoken. She had white spectacles, and long black hair and she was positively beaming.

"Haha… Thanks… This is going to have to take some time to get used to though." I replied, shaking my head. But no, I can't lie. Getting Hatsune Miku as a vocaloid? Boo yeah!

"So you had a so-called Golden Ticket as well?" I asked the girl and she nodded, smiling.

"What's your name?" She asked, and I 'let go' of Miku as she finally relinquished her form of 'virtual hug' on me.

"I am Nicole! You?"

"Barzini. Pleased to meet you." I bowed my head a little, and turned on my laptop, and plugged in my USB modem, and went onto Facebook.

_Update Status:_

_Got myself a Hatsune Miku vocaloid! How cool is that! :D_

Then, I went to check on my notifications. I had sixty two likes for my previous status, with me comparing my trip to the audition as a, as what Singaporeans like to call it in our native Singlish-

_Sure die. But still go anyway la._

Sighing, satisfied, I suddenly saw a new friend request, which I opened.

_Hatsune Miku would like to add you as a friend.  
>Yes or No?<em>

I turned my head to look at her, and her eyes seemed to be out of focus, somewhat dreamy, but after a while, she turned to look at me, and she craned her neck over, and pointed at the friend request.

"Add! Add! It's me! Add! Add!" She squealed, and I nodded quickly.

"Okay! Okay! I just had to be sure who I was adding!" I answered hastily, and clicked Yes.

_Hatsune Miku has been added to your friends list! Write something on her wall!_

I thought about it for a moment, and laughed a little as I wrote a response to her wall.

_Looking forward to spending the awesome moments in my life with you! Shall treat you like a real human, IF YOU DON'T MIND._

As I turned to look at her, her eyes were out of focus again, and when I saw a new notification, I was about to click onto it when a door to the right opened, and a rather old and frail looking man in a lab coat came out, wearing a pair of reading glasses.

"Are you two the approved candidates..? Please come in…" He croaked, and all four of us got up, with Miku constantly pestering Kaito, only to be dismissed by him with a kind smile or a laugh that can melt the hearts of girls. Miku looked like me on a sugar rush… I just had to say that…

"Okay, this does not concern the Vocaloids for now, they may take a seat at the side. Now, for the so-called masters, in accordance to the Ministry of Education guidelines, you all have to take a subject test. Other than taking the examinable subject of Future Media- Vocaloids, you will have to take a language, for your cases, English, and one Science or Humanities or Mathematics. Now, in front of you are sheets of questions, we know that you come unprepared, thus, this gives us the most perfect opportunity of examining your aptitude for each subject. Please begin. You may submit whenever you are ready."

A test? Goodness… My mathematics is horrendous… Science is still fine when it comes to Chemistry… I'll take a look at the Humanities ones…

I opened the brown folder and saw the paper, titled-

_GCE O LEVELS  
>UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE-LOCAL EXAMINATIONS SYNDICATE<br>HISTORY (CRYPTON FUTURE SCHOOL ALTERED)_

With the word history, my brain awakened, and I took out the paper and borrowed a pen from Nicole, who looked surprisingly prepared to take a test, with even a calculator in her sling bag, which she has now taken out, and started hammering digits into it.

I took a look at Miku and Kaito, who were seated obediently at the corner of the room, do Vocaloids know too when we are doing something important and do not wish to be disturbed? Crypton Future Technology has really outdone themselves this time on.

Q1: Name 3 key figures in the Cold War

Wow this was easy. Castro, Kennedy and Khrushchev

Q2: What is the pact of alliance between Germany and Italy called?

Pact of Steel? I think it is… Going to write that either way…

As time progressed, and I finished the history paper, I raised my hand and submitted the history paper, and the old professor nodded after giving it a brief scan, through a machine, but he did not say a thing.

I watched in a slight twinge of envy as Nicole seemed to be able to solve the Mathematics questions as if it was as easy as 1+1=2, and after she submitted the paper, the old man nodded and rubbed his hands together.

"Now, Vocaloids? Please leave the room. I have to talk to your masters." The old man coughed, and we watched as Miku hopped out of the room while Kaito walked out of the room, and the old man walked to close the door.

"Sorry. Vocaloids can only follow you where there is light. So I guess it solves your mental question." He said at me as I looked at the door, wondering that exact question.

"So what happens when there is no light?" I asked, and the old man sat down in front of both Nicole and I, and cleared his throat.

"Vocaloid cannot enter places without light. So assuming it is a dark room, the vocaloid cannot enter it. At the very least, there MUST be a light source in the room for the vocaloid to be there."

"Also, I want to expand on a sensitive topic for Vocaloids." The old man said gravely, and we leaned forward, afraid to miss a single word he said.

"Emotions. Vocaloids are a little less than robots. We are releasing the beta to all of you who pass the audition successfully. They will try to simulate emotions. But please, I beseech you, teach our inventions emotion somehow. The normal textbook kind of drilling won't work. But I believe, or well, we believe, Vocaloids already have some sort of emotion. Your Miku was displaying happiness rather obviously right? Either way, take note that a few days later, there will be a wide commercialization of personalized Vocaloids, built to a person's design. But your Hatsune Miku and other original Vocaloids are copyrighted and cannot be reproduced." He paused, and went to take a drink of water, pushing up his reading spectacles.

"Next, I want you to understand that… In a few days time, within this compound, there will be Vocaloid simulator items for sale. So start saving up."

"Vocaloid simulator items? What are those?" Nicole opened up her mouth to speak for once, and I sat back a little, now a bit more relaxed than usual.

"Well, we sell things for your Vocaloid. Such as food. Yes, we're trying to make them as human as possible. Yes, your canteen is merged with theirs. The individual canteen sell different food, both for humans and Vocaloids. Then, also accessories for your vocaloids, as well as other things to decorate your room and your Vocaloid's. You will all be given a dormitory, which is two rooms big. One for yourself and the other for your Vocaloid. Yes, you have to move in here." The old man nodded, in response to the shocked face at his sentence.

"Oh okay… So… Vocaloids are now trying to be shaped as human as possible?" I asked, and the old man smiled.

"It is our most ambitious dream to have even one Vocaloid with all emotions in them, fully able to express themselves and think for others." He smiled, and moved to shake our hands.

"You may all leave with your Vocaloids. But I suggest you take the back entrance. You will be the first two to be accepted into the school and leaving this place with a copyrighted Vocaloid. The Caucasian man that brought you all to the meeting room will lead you there. You will do well to pack your luggage as soon as possible. You may leave. The general audition is beginning soon."

I stood up and packed my bag, and bowed a little, and as I was about to leave, I turned to face him.

"So sir, did I get history?" I asked him, and he shrugged and smiled, and I left, my heart heavy. I think I got the question on how D-Day was initiated wrongly…. Oh oh… And the collapse of the Soviet Union… Oh no…

"So how did it go?" A cheery voice greeted me as I exited the room, and I saw Miku smiling at me.

"Kind of okay… I guess…" I shrugged, hugging my laptop closer to me.

"Which paper did you attempt?" Nicole asked me, and I sighed.

"I think I completely messed up… I'm going to fail…" I moaned, and she sighed as well.

"The Mathematics paper was pretty challenging… But I messed up the calculus areas… Differentiation and intergration. Oh and Kinematics… I think I intergrated instead of differentiating…" Nicole lamented, and I nodded sympathetically. Victims of maths, all of us. At some point in time that is.

"Hey, excuse me Sir! Do you mind if you take us to the back entrance?" I asked the Caucasian, who shook our hands as he saw us with two vocaloids following behind us.

"Congratulations, young folks. First two. Now, let us leave by the back entrance you say? Very well." He smiled, and we nodded gratefully, and followed him down a corridor, past the canteen that were still shut, with white chairs and white circular tables there, and several dispensing machines. Miku was still pestering Kaito to get him to make a real conversation with her.

"Nice… The facilities are really good." I commented as we reached the backdoor, and exited, and we reached a glass structure, a door slid open, and the Caucasian man smiled.

"I'll take you this far! See you all when terms open." He winked and we greeted him farewell as he left, and Miku raised both of her hands and waved as Kaito stood there, and bowed a little.

"Alright… We are the first two?" I sad to myself.

"Yep." Nicole replied.

"Nice meeting you." I said, and she smiled back in response.

"Nice meeting you too. Do you Facebook?"

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>Alright! This is my first Vocaloid Fanfiction! I hope all of you thoroughly enjoy this FF, for this one, I daresay I poured all my interest in it XD Having day-dreamed of Vocaloid being real all the time…<strong>

**Anyway, I will be co-authoring this story with Nicole, who is an amazing writer whom I am sure will keep you entertained to the very end of the story in her chapter, which is the next one!**

**Thank you all for reading this FF, and I hope you enjoyed it! The first few submissions will allow you to pick a Vocaloid such as Rin or Len etc. The ones that belong to Crypton Future Media~!**

* * *

><p><strong>OC SUBMISSION IS NOW CLOSED<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Phew! That's done it! Thanks for reading!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

"Okite(wake up)…tsumaranai(I'm bored)…"

"Wha…what…," I rolled to the other side of the bed, "dete kure(get out)…I wanna sleep…"

"Mou kuu-ji daiyou…(it's already 9)" My brain registered a male voice, my pitch perfect, sensitive ears tell me it's a synthetic voice…wait synthetic voice! My brain scrambled and I sat up with a jolt passing through something bluish and transparent , Crypton Future Media, school, audition, golden ticket…Kaito! I turned back and looked at my bedside chair, where he was straightening himself…lets see… blue hair, blue eyes, blue scarf, cute smile, I was looking at him! Oh, and incase you were wondering dear reader, I'm Nicole! Dozo Yoroshiku ne! (Please take care of me!)

Kaito was just smiling at me as I scooted closer to the bed edge, "Kino(Yesterday)…" I reached out to poke him, and my hand went straight through him.

He nodding his head, his scarf swishing about as he did so, "Yup, I'm real enough as it is…demo(but)…it'd be nice if you didn't wake up in me if you know what I mean."

I did know what he meant, I wouldn't want people passing through me either, then I looked down and realised that he was a guy, in my room, and I was wearing my PJs, major unglam! I didn't care that he was a hologram he had to leave now!

Remembering the words from the Japanese guy at the audition, I reached over and flicked off the bedside lights, quickly grabbing my cycling gear from my closet, I changed and brushed my teeth, fumbling a bit as I did this in the dark.

When I was more or less done, I flicked on the lights again, "Hey! Would you mind giving me a warning before you do that!" Nodding I reached for the door handle, and looked at the time, 9:30am the blue dial on my desk flashed, wait a second! Blue! Turning to Kaito, I asked, "You changed my clock colour…"

Looking worried, like he did something really bad, he said quietly, "You don't like it?..."

I smacked myself internally, way to go Nicole, condemning an already fragile heart, waving my hands in front of me like some cartoon character, "No. No. No. I love it! Come on, have to go grab breakfast! I'm already late!" grabbing his hand, which of course couldn't be grabbed as my hand passed right through his, making me stumble a bit, recovering, I settled for a slightly embarrassed wave for him to follow, this is going to take some time.

Running down to the kitchen, I grabbed some things from the fridge and threw them together and chucked it in the toaster, while Kaito stood there and watched, his blue eyes wide and shiny. I sighed to myself; I really can't wait to get one of those virtual snacks they are going to sell at school for Kaito. As I was raiding the larder for more stuff, I asked, "So where did you sleep?"

He stared at me, then after a while he answered, "On your bed of course!", I didn't reply mostly because I was at a lost for words, but apparently he didn't realize so he continued, "...oh and pink really looks good on you." I could guarantee that if I were an anime character, I my face would have turned red and then there would have been a white gas bubble on top of my head as I deflated (or melted whichever anime you were picturing) in embarrassment.

"You could have told me you needed a bed!" I shouted.

"But...but...I wanted to snuggle with you!" he whined.

"Snug…snuggle!" I didn't know whether to scream at his cuteness or just burry my head somewhere. Ok…ok…chill, Nicole, just remember to pull out the spare bed next time, I thought to myself.

Oblivious, Kaito went on to say, "Uhuh…and I wanted to brush teeth with you, but you woke up so late, so I just went ahead…and then I started getting bored and then I tried to wake you up, so I said, 'okite'(wake up)…"

Putting a hand up to stop him, "Yes, yes, I was there…"

Then he turned to look at me, "Nicole-sama, daijoubu(are you alright)?"

Taking a deep breath, I said, "Yes, yes, I'm good."

I nicked the carton of milk from the fridge and wrapped my latest sandwich creation in foil before stuffing it in my backpack together with all my other snacks for the day, "I'm leaving!" I shouted to my still sleeping parents. You see, it was the weekend routine for me to wake up, go cycling and buy some groceries on the way back, my parents seemed to think it was my job apparently.

I kicked the bike stand up and wheeled my silver bike to the lift. I walked a bit, then turning to Kaito, "Come on, don't just stand there! I'm already late for work!"

Snapping out of staring at my bike for two seconds too long, Kaito replied, "Ah…ok coming!"

I stepped out of the lift, and swung one leg up mounting the bike, then patting small seat behind me, I said, "You can sit here."

"Ok, Nicole-sama!" he replied.

I started cycling, expecting it to be hard, but of course it wasn't, Kaito's scarf flapped in the wind as I rode to Singaporeans favourite park, East Coast Park…no one ever knows why the one at West Coast is not as popular.

On the way there people kept staring, I sighed, well there was no helping this I guess, I was thinking by today, my whole family, scratch that the whole neighbourhood is going to know of Kaito. I turn in my seat to see how he was taking the attention, not too bad apparently, he was giving small smiles and waves to occasional people, who in response just either gawked more or waved back.

Working up a rhythm by the time I got to the park, I asked, "Did you just call me -sama?"

And cue in the worried, sad look, "You don't like to be called -sama?...demo(but)…you are my master…" Kaito questioned.

"Kaito, I may be your master but you don't have to be so formal, just treat me like a best friend, loosen up a little.", I said to him.

I soon reached the bike rental shop which I helped out at during holidays, thankfully the boss likes me well enough to pardon today's lateness. It was a part time job and I normally worked mornings. As I worked, Kaito was just standing there occasionally asking me what's this and what's that, and also garnering a lot of attention and he was actually bringing in good business, till my boss told me to bring him every day to my surprise. I looked over from the cashier and saw that Kaito was having a good time and opening himself up to people, I decided this was a good thing.

Xxx

I handed over the till to my shift partner and was going to leave for my lunch break, so I motioned for Kaito to join me, as he bounded over, I could see he was definitely more confident of himself, hopping onto my bike I waited for Kaito to sit before heading toward my favourite quiet time place.

I turned my head back a fraction of a second and saw that he was doing that zoning out thing again, and then my cell phone beeped. With one hand I whipped out my phone from my pocket.

_You have three notifications!_

I braked and parked my bike next to my favourite breakwater, climbing up the stony surface with Kaito right behind me, I sat in the shade and faced the sea as I opened my facebook page.

_Hatsune Miku would like to add you as a friend.  
>Yes or No?<em>

_Barzini would like to add you as a friend. Yes or No?_

_Shion Kaito wrote something on your wall! View now!_

Accepting the two friend requests, I shot a look at Kaito and pressed the view now button.

_**Shion ****Kaito  
><strong>Nicole-sama, I'm so glad you are my chosen companion I really had fun at the beach! But now Miku is flooding my fb wall and I can't keep up with her messages…T_T…_

Huhh…I thought to myself, tapping on Kaito's name to go to his profile. My jaw dropped, his fb profile page was flooded with Miku's posts! Tapping 'see older posts', out popped another page full of Miku saying 'Hi', or just making random comments. She was just trying to be nice but I think my poor Kaito couldn't keep up with her hyperness.

Firing off a quick message to Barzini on facebook.

_Barzini!_

_Does Miku keep spacing out on you? That's probably because she's constantly posting fb messages on Kaito's wall! He's a little overwhelmed right now! So restrain her! Tell her you're gonna buy her a cute mini skirt or something!_

_Nicole_

Pressing the lock button on my cell, I turned to Kaito, "You know you could have just told me that right?" Turning away he blushed a little. My cell beeped again, a reply, that was fast.

Opening the chat box it said.

_Nicole. Miku is in a mood swing. I don't know whether she will continue spamming. But I think I bought Kaito a few days' respite. Send my regards to him._

I sighed and said to Kaito, "Well, Barzini is trying to take care of the situation now…"

I was cut off by an incoming message, unlocking the screen, I saw it was an unfamiliar number, but I opened it anyway.

_This message is from The School of the Future: Notifying all students that the start of term is one month away and a packing and book list will be sent to respective home addresses and that the Vocaloid simulator items shop will be open in three days time, where there will be an opening sale, so do save up! –end of message-_

Glancing at Kaito, I said, "Well looks like you can get something soon!"

Smiling that sweet smile at me he said, "What ever you want, Nicole-sa…ah I mean Nicole!" Yup, he was definitely surer of himself. Then strangely he went back to staring at my bike.

"Do you like it?", I said pointing at my bike.

Nodding his head ever so slightly, "Great!" I said, "then I'm definitely going to get you one, if they sell it at the store!"

His eyes widened for the second time that day, "Really! Arigatou(thank you)!" Throwing his arms around me in a hug for the first time.

Laughing as I pulled myself out of the embrace, I opened my back pack and pulled out my sandwich, unwrapping the foil, I took a bite out of it, not bad, cheese, sugar, ham, mustard and some other things which I think was cereal, cause this was the first time I made a crunchy sandwich.

"Is that nice?" Kaito asked, he was looking at my random sandwich with much curiosity.

Mouth half full, I nodded and choked out, "Mphmm…" then swallowing, "I'll make one for you if you want, one day." Quickly munching the rest of my sandwich, I scrambled down the breakwater.

"Are we going already?" Kaito sounded a little forlorn. "You like it here?" I asked, as the sea breeze whipped my hair into a frenzy.

"….it reminds me of my name."

I see, I thought to myself, my lifelong companion likes the sea, that's nice, since I loved the ocean too. "Hey, don't sound so sad, we can always come tomorrow and when you get your own bike, you can come yourself," I said, "but for now…hate to drag you away but I really need to go get some groceries."

Walking away somewhat reluctantly, we both ended up at the supermarket in ten minutes. I was just locking my bike into the bicycle stand, when I looked up and realised that Kaito was missing. I looked around frantically, as I imagined what the board of directors would say if I told them that I lost Kaito, I mean can you even loose a vocaloid in the first place!

Then I rounded the corner and there was Kaito, his face was pressed up to the glass of the supermarket store, and he was staring intently at something. Creeping up on him, I whispered, "Boo!" And he actually jumped! As he turned, I caught sight of what he was staring at, and it came as no surprise really, yup you guessed it; it was a freezer full of Häagen-Dazs ice cream.

Waving his arms about, "Nicole! Häagen-Dazs aisu(ice cream)! Tabetai(Wanna eat)!" Now, he was jumping up and down and woah! He actually climbed on me, and just for that split second he was doing that, it actually felt like he became solid and had weight, but it must have been my imagination.

"Uhh…Kaito!" Trying to grab him off me, or more like shake him off me. "You have to get off me! People are looking!" He was visibly drooling now, what was I thinking bring him to the supermarket, talk about split personality.

He was grabbing air now with a dreamy look on his face, "Aisu!"

"Ok, Kaito! You can't eat it anyway so calm down! I'll buy you some when the vocaloid store opens, ok?"

He was positively bouncing now, "Really! Really! Really! Promise!" We were attracting a lot of attention now, a lot.

"Yes, yes, I promise. Now, I have to grab some stuff for dinner…" glancing over to where Kaito stood, he was still edging towards the ice cream, well there's no helping this I suppose, raising my voice so that he could hear, "…you can stay here at the ice cream area when I'm gone I guess."

"Yay!" He ran to the ice cream area and started hugging the freezer or more like disappearing into the freezer, shaking my head I pulled out my shopping list and started going through the shelves for my items.

Xxx

I reached the snacks section, and headed straight to the pocky section, tsubu tsubu strawberry was my favourite flavour and I would normally raid the shelves for this indulgence of mine.

Reaching up to the top shelf I took the last box of strawberry, and out of the corner of my eye I saw someone's nicely manicured lavender shade fingernails, looking down from my tip-toed position, I saw the cutest girl ever, she had long hair, about waist-length and in that quick glace of mine I spotted a streak of purple at one side, her face was framed by twin pigtails, loosely tied of course, and the look was completed with a shimmery black hair band, I jumped I little and managed to get the last box of tsubu tsubu pocky, I held it out to the girl next to me, "Would you like it?" Her startling emerald green eyes behind her silver half-framed spectacles met my own black ones, then she looked away, and said, "Ah...if you don't mind...then yes."

Taking the box, she placed it in her basket which was filled to the brim with all the other flavours of pocky, "You like pocky too, huh?"

"Yes, every flavour! Though my favourite is the tsubu tsubu kind…" as she said this, her eyes sparkled as she talked animatedly.

Nodding my head in agreement, "I know right! I absolutely love that series of pocky too! It's like my weekend therapy to get some!"

Just like that the two of us clicked and I learned that her name was Yukina, a cute name to suit her cute looks I thought to myself, we took the escalator down to the first floor as we chatted about the finer points of the different types of pocky, and later concluded that the supermarket two streets down had the best selection and the limited edition favours that came according to seasons in Japan were to die for, while exchanging facebook addresses at the same time.

Yukina then waved to someone as we reached first floor ,that someone got closer, to us as he walked with a purposeful stride with a USB trailing behind…wait a minute…USB!

I turned to Yukina and said, "You have a vocaloid too!...and it's Piko?"

She nodded shyly and questioned, "Umm…yes…and from the looks of it you do too?"

"Yup," I replied, then added as she looked around for my vocaloid, "…but he's kinda busy at the ice cream section now…" my eyes casted around the ice cream section then I finally spotted the blue tail of his scarf.

"Yea…I understand… with Piko it's marshmallows…Umm…ice cream…Kaito?" she enquired.

"Yup…," I sighed, "he probably stuck his head down a freezer somewhere though, I better go see what happened…"

"Ah yes…ok…bye bye then…" she said as she did a little wave.  
>Walking back wards I waved back and shouted, "You are coming for the opening sale in three days time, right?" seeing her nod in affirmation, I continued, "See you there then!"<p>

Xxx

Reaching Kaito, who was still at the same Häagen-Dazs ice cream freezer, I saw that my little comment to Yukina, was quite close to what he was trying to do, he practically sprawled himself over the glass top of the freezer with the left side of his face pressed up against the glass.

"Umm…Kaito…" I poked him and of course went straight through him but he obviously felt something as he looked up at me with a still dazed look.

"Vanilla aisu..." he mumbled as he grabbed air. Oh geez...this is going to take sometime.

"Uhuh...ok...I'm going to checkout these items first ok..." I turned to walk away with my basket.

"No!" Kaito exclaimed, then pointing at the vanilla flavour, "buy! Please!"

"But you can't eat it!" then I looked up at his pleading eyes, he looked so sad, gahh!..."ok ok!...I'll get some...I'll get some!"

His eyes lit up, as he pointed to the exact tub he wanted from the fridge.

"We can go to the cashier now?" I asked.  
>"Unn...!..." Kaito replied, then continuing in a dreamy voice, "aisu..."<p>

Cycling home with all the groceries, I cycled faster then I normally would have because of the ice cream. Reaching home, I put away the things I bought, then I stared at the ice cream I just bought, I asked Kaito, "How about I put it in the fridge for now and when I buy you yours from the virtual shop, we can eat ice cream together?"

Then with a dreamy voice he said, "Ok, Nicole!"

Keeping the ice cream in the freezer I tagged the tub with a 'property of Nicole' sticker, so that no one would eat it.

Then I spotted a note on the kitchen table, it was from my parents.

_Good __Afternoon __dear __daughter!_

_Daddy __and __I __decided __to __take __a __short __trip __to __Malaysia __so __you__'__re __on __your __own, __for __the __next __two __days, __if __you __are __wondering __why __we __are __gone __for __so __long, __that__'__s __because __Daddy __has __to __go __there __for __work __and __Mommy __is __just __tagging __along! __Well __the __money __you __need __is __on __the __counter __and __if __you __have __any __problems __there__'__s __always __Aunt __downstairs __and __Grandmother __across __the __street!__Have __fun __and __ciao!_

_P.S.__Will __buy __you __some __new __stuff __and __DVDs!_

_XOXO  
><em>_Mommy_

I looked at the letter and rolled my eyes, yep, as usual, my parents just left me alone again!

Kaito tilted his head to one side and said, "Nicole, what was that?"

"Oh…that's just my parents telling me they're not going to be around for the next two days, as usual." I replied in a matter-of-fact voice. He was obviously more sane when not in contact with ice cream, looks like I have to be extra careful.

"So…you are mostly left alone?" he questioned.

"Yup…used to it already," I said, trying my best to sound happy.

Then smiling that absolutely cute smile, that probably would have made me give in to any request of his, he said, "Well at least now you can talk to me!"

* * *

><p><strong>Mmm<strong>**…****hi****…****so ****how ****was ****that?... haha****…****ok****…****I****'****m ****kinda ****new ****with ****this ****whole ****fanfiction ****thing****…****it****'****s ****all ****thanks ****to ****Barzini ****that ****I****'****m ****even ****doing ****this****…****haha****…****be ****kind****…****and ****umm****…****yea****…****I ****love ****Japanese ****a ****lot****… ****but ****if ****you ****find ****that ****it ****kills ****the ****reading ****flow****…****feedback! ****If ****you ****spot ****any ****Jap ****mistakes ****tell ****me ****too!****Thanks ****for ****taking ****time ****to ****read ****my ****um****…****amateurish ****piece****…****Arigatou ****ne! ****Dewa ****mata!****(Till ****next ****time****)**


	3. Chapter 3

_Do~Do~Do~Do~_

You know the Wild West theme, the ones they play before a cowboy showdown? Or what they like to call a shooutout at the O.K Corral? Well, anyway, today, I almost put a toy bullet through the head of my Vocaloid. Want to know why? I'll tell you why.

Well anyway, it's the holidays, and I'd love to sleep in, but I have to go to work. Schoolboys need money too okay! Anyway, the fine thing about giving tuition is to be able to wake up at the afternoon and have a breakfast-sized meal and still feel full.

So, imagine the shock you get when you open your bloody eyes, and to your left, a woman is sleeping there. Ok fine, a little less than a woman, a Vocaloid. But well…

"Oh! What the hell!" I practically screamed, and reached for the nearest weapon I had, a model Colt 1911 pistol, and waved it at her.

"Good afternoon, Barzini!" She yawned, stretching her arms, and jumped out of bed, and waved, while doing a little bow.

"What the heck were you doing in my bed!" I yelped, still shocked and possibly red-faced from whatever reasons she was doing in my bed.

"I needed a bed to sleep!" She smiled, and for a moment she stared at my face until the point I got uncomfortable.

"Uhm… Yes?" I asked her.

"Why is your face red?"

"Nothing you need to know!" I snapped, and threw that toy pistol aside, and went to wash up, and to my shock, she tried to follow me to the bathroom.

"Whoa, whoa. What are you trying to do? Alright alright, ladies first. But remember! One person in the washroom at a time!" I told her, and she cocked her head, before doing a little jig on the spot.

"Okay~! Okay~!" She smiled, and pounced into the washroom, and I went to the living room where there was a note left by my dad. My parents have left me home alone. Again.

"Hey, Miku. How do you eat breakfast now?" I raised my voice, and a high voice drifted back to me-

"Not yet, Barzini~! Thank you anyway~! The virtual shops only open in three days time~!" She chirped, as she skipped to the living room where I was.

"Okay, my turn to wash up. And no following for now." I said sternly.

Xxx

As the bacon was being fried, I turned on my laptop and headed straight to Facebook, where there were… Wait… What?

72 notifications!

"Okay… Miku! I got a record new 72 notifications!" I smiled, and to my surprise, she was still sitting down there, and unresponsive.

"Miku?" I said again, and she looked up and smiled, and did a 'thumbs up' with both of her hands.

"That is nice, Barzini!"

I flipped the bacons, and went poured myself a glass of milk, and took a sip from it, and laid it at the table when I saw the notifications turn to 73.

I clicked on it and saw that most notifications were commenting on me getting Hatsune Miku as a Vocaloid, and as I did a brief scroll through my comments, most expressed envy, jealousy, or admiration. They ranged from…

_Screw you! Lucky noob!_

To…

_Hey, I got in too! Hi-five!_

"Hmm… Michelle got in huh…" I smiled to myself, and sent her a message.

_So, what Vocaloid did you get? :P_

I watched as Hatsune Miku's eyes were constantly dreamy, and I figured that she was either surfing the net or actually reading some sort of Vocaloid ebook to entertain herself. For now, her human companion was boring. Extremely boring. And boring is my middle name.

However, they only made up twenty-four of the new notifications. Hence, doing the logical thing, I opened up, _See__All__Notifications._

_Hatsune Miku posted on your wall.  
>Hatsune Miku posted on your wall.<br>Hatsune Miku posted on your wall.  
>Hatsune Miku posted on your wall.<br>Hatsune Miku posted on your wall.  
>Hatsune Miku posted on your wall.<br>Hatsune Miku posted on your wall.  
>Hatsune Miku mentioned you in a comment "Barzini, I am so happy to…"<br>Hatsune Miku posted on your wall.  
>Hatsune Miku tagged you in a photo.<br>Hatsune Miku posted on your wall.  
>Hatsune Miku also commented on your status.<br>Hatsune Miku…_

For a moment, I stood there, just staring at the screen, as I kept scrolling down my Facebook page… I couldn't help but break into a smile. Silly girl is silly. But amusing me, that is. For the heck of it, I clicked on the last notification in the list, when I had written on her wall to "thank" her for accepting her request.

Her response was sweet.

_I look forward to spending all the times all happy with you, Barzini!_

As I went "AWWW" at the post and went to flip my bacon, I was alerted by my Facebook chat.

Placing the bacons on my plate, I took the plate and my glass of milk to sit beside Hatsune Miku, who gave a very audible yawn.

"So, would you prefer it if I called you Hatsune? Or Miku?" I asked, scratching my chin, and turning on the television via the remote, I sipped at my milk, and almost gagged when that familiar "Bu~" sounded from my laptop. That thing you hear when you get a new message? Well… Let's see… A message from Nicole.

As I clicked on it, and read further, I felt my heart sinking. Just for the record, this was the message::

_Barzini!_

_Does Miku keep spacing out on you! That's probably because she's constantly posting fb messages on Kaito's wall! He's a little overwhelmed right now! So restrain her! Tell her you're gonna buy her a cute mini skirt or something!_

_Nicole_

Turning to look at her, indeed, her eyes were out of focus, and she was sitting unusually still, and after a few moments, I decided I had to bring her out of her trance.

"Uhhh… Miku…" I said, clearing my throat and placing my plate of bacons on the coffee table and stared at her.

No reply. Still those dreamy eyes.

"Miku." I repeated, raising my voice a little.

I could almost sigh n relief when her eyes shifted back to focus. She smiled and cocked her head, and flapped her hands up and down.

"Yes? Yes?" She asked, shaking her legs up and down.

"Uhm… Have you been spamming Kaito on your Facebook?" I asked, trying to give the face which I always fail at. The "I-is-angry-do-not-mess-with-the-Barzini" face that is. It works only once on everyone thanks to my uber acting skills, but apparently, my dear Vocaloid does not realise that I am trying to get a message across.

"But… But… That is not called spamming! He said I spammed?" Her face fell, visibly crestfallen, and my heart kind of melted for a moment.

"Well… Uhh…" I was thinking of the words to put it across to her nicely that Kaiton would have probably deactivated his Facebook account by now if he wasn't a nice fella, or jump off the 16th floor as a human being when they see their Facebook Wall being defiled, until I saw her eyes widened and she squealed as she pointed at the television.

"Nice! Nice! I want! I want!" She continued squealing, waving her hand up and down, both pointing at the television screen. Apparently, it was a food guide, you know the kind that has this celebrity going about the world discovering ingredients, and visiting traditional cooks? Well, the celebrity is now holding a leek. Wait. Leek? Oh.

"Hey, Miku. May I ask why, do you like leek so much? The taste is a bit…" I started and Miku's mouth fell open and she covered it with her hands and stared at me surprised, and before I could continue, she jumped forward and tried to cover my mouth with her virtual hands, and fell on me, but somehow, she didn't sink through like how everytime I poked her, my hand will go through her slightly. It's as if she can literally feel and tell the solid form of a human being.

Well, but it sure was awkward for me. After all, she IS a girl. My face turned a little red, and I sat back, and she fell on me.

"Oof!" She squealed and sat back up, and pouted.

"Leek is nice! Why do you all keep asking me about it? Buy a leek for me please! Please, Barzini! Please! I will show you why it is so nice! Please~!" Her voice got higher and higher, the expression on her face cuter and cuter, and I got more and more, to put it, placed at the mercy of her cuteness.

"Okay! Okay!" I started, but now she was wailing.

"All I have now is a toothbrush, and a personal hygiene kit with shampoo and conditioner! The creators were so stupid!" She ranted, hitting her arms on the sofa, and pouted, before crossing her arms with her face puffed up, and looking sulky.

Now that side of Miku, I have not seen before. And that old man seems to be fairly wrong about Miku. She got a lot of emotions, most girly in fact. And if I may add, cute to the extend you feel like drawing your arm and sending a sharp punch to her cheek.

"Okay… Okay… Don't be sad. I'll buy leek for you okay? Anyway, back to topic, Kaito. Will you stop spamming him?"

She did not reply, but her puffed up mouth became even bigger, and I was afraid that she'd learn the emotion 'Cry' a tad bit too soon…  
>"Alright… Alright…" I muttered and went back to Facebook, and opened up a chat window with Nicole.<p>

_Nicole.__Miku__is__in__a__mood__swing.__I__don__'__t__know__whether__she__will__continue__spamming.__But__I__think__I__bought__Kaito__a__few__days__' __respite.__Send__my__regards__to__him._

After eating my bacon in silence for a while, I cast a sideways glance at Miku, who had now placed her head on her knees, still pouting, her face a slight shade of red.

"Alright. I'm going to give tuition soon. Do you want to come along?" I asked, as I finished packing my bag, and slung my blue Levis bag across the shoulder, and she covered her ears with her hands and pouted, stomping her foot on the spot.

"No? Alright...!" I said in a purposely high voice, and as I walked to the door, I took an extra long time to wear my socks and shoes, and stood up to leave.

As I was about to open the door, I heard someone walking to me, and I saw it was Miku, her head slightly bowed, a slight pout still on her face, and she was kicking the floor gently, not daring to look at me.

"Let's go…" She said softly, and the moment I opened the door, she left first, and I couldn't help but grin. Miku will be Miku.

Xxx

No, seriously. I thought that the Vocaloid craze stirred by the Crypton School would have died down after a day or so, but when Miku had her head down and strode down the street with me, I thought I looked like some sort of Koala in an enclosure

"God… Stop staring…" I muttered to myself as passer-by ogled at the both of us like we were some sort of exhibition.

However, as if words uttered to myself had any effects. Hatsune Miku however, waved back enthusiastically to people who waved at her.

"I am more appreciated." She pouted and started to walk alongside me. Somehow, this comment pierced my heart, and it was my turn to feel unhappy.

"Mhm." I made a non-committable noise and did not respond to any of her queries as we waited for a bus at a bus stop, and after a while, we were the only 2 at a bus stop.

"Barzini! Why aren't you talking!" Miku whined, stomping her foot on the floor, and I turned to glare at her.

"No reason." I snapped, albeit angrily, and she seemed to have detected some sort of annoyance in my voice, as she sat nearer, and lowered her voice.

"Anything wrong, Barzini-sama?" She whispered, entering a lapse of Japanese, and I shook my head forcefully, still slightly annoyed but somewhat calmed down by the fact that she at least knew what was going on.

"Sorry… If I did anything wrong?" She said uncertainly, stroking one end of her cyan blue twin tail, and twirling it with her finger.

Okay, one thing about me is if someone apologises to me nicely, I'd most probably deflate on the spot. So well…

"It's alright Miku. But just remember that as your master, I am here to defend you and be your dearest friend. Do not think otherwise." I smiled, and gave her a virtual pat on the shoulder, and she smiled back, sighing happily and giving me a hug.

"Thank you, Barzini-sama!" She smiled, and let go, and just nice, the bus came rolling down the road.

"Let's board the bus?" I smiled, and stood up, and she jumped up, sweeping her cyan hair, and she bounded aboard the bus, with me following behind, smiling.

"Hey! Hey! Barzini! That you?"

I looked around and to my great surprise, I saw Michelle, her dark brown hair and her two pony-tails with those silver bangs in her hair, clearly visible in the crowd.

"Hey, Michelle! Your Facebook told me you yourself got a Vocaloid?" I started moving towards her, thinking there was an empty seat beside her., but when I reached it, I saw well, a cat, no, a girl, pawing herself on the face with her hands, as if trying to clean herself, curled up beside her master. She was blocked by the seat… So don't blame me for being blind!

"Wow… A cat-like Vocaloid?" I asked, and she nodded proudly, and pat her vocaloid on the head, upon which she purred.

"What's her name?" I wowed, having never seen this Vocaloid before.

"SeeU!" The Vocaloid sprung up, and pawed me, and I sighed. Vocaloids' onslaught of cuteness will take its toll on me someday… Someday…

"Where are you off to anyway, you old woman." I joked, and she laughed.

"I am only a month older than you anyway. So… You got Hatsune Miku?" She said, standing up a little to extend her hand to Miku, who shook it enthusiastically, although her hand did go through slightly.

"Nice to meet you! I am Hatsune Miku!" She chirped, twirling about the spot, and Michelle laughed slightly.

"Master… Can I have a salmon? " SeeU asked, widening her eyes and clasping both her hands together and placing them under her chin while staring at Michelle.

"Call me Michelle. And yes, sure. When the Virtual Store opens, that is." She smiled, taking out a mirror to comb her fringe forward so that it'll cover her eyes slightly more, and like Michelle, SeeU was combing her fringe forward as well.

"Alright… Our stop is here, Miku. Hey, Michelle. You going for the grand opening of the Virtual Store?" I asked, and she nodded, and I waved goodbye, and Hatsune Miku, as warm as ever, hugged the both of them before she practically skipped off the bus.

"Miku. Do me a favour."

"Yes? Barzini?"

"Continue being this cheerful. It cheers me up." I smiled, and she laughed, and raised both her hands, and we high-fived.

Xxx

"Hello! I am here! Hannah, open up!" I rang the doorbell, and I heard a loud thumping of footsteps, and some giggling, much to my surprise, and I took a step back, as the door opened, and Hannah was there, her blonde hair curly, and grinning at me, for once. She was either that emo self who was barely sober (she bought alcohol as a minor and we always had to figure out a way to sober her up. I remember rubbing salt on her ulcer once… But that's a different story.)

"What's inside your house. An ambush?" I asked cautiously, weird times call for cautious measures, I always used to say.

"Nope. Mom is waiting. My brother too." She shrugged, and I gestured for Miku who was around a corner to go in first.

"YOU TOO?" Hannah's voice sounded loudly down the entire corridor as Miku appeared, and I couldn't help but feel offended. Not a lot of people got in! Inside the house, there was a loud squeal from Miku and a loud crashing sound.

"What do you mean by that!" I shot back defensively, and my answer came in the form of a Miku who thundered out of the house.

"Meiko! Meiko! Calm down! I am not Kaito!" She squealed, as she ran behind me for cover, and a woman in red stormed out of the house, clutching a bottle of Sakae, and she raised it, and for a moment, I was about to call for help when I remembered that she was a Vocaloid.

"Barzini! Barzini! NOO! I want to be alive before you get me my leek!" Miku's voice, already high, in a squeal, is near eardrum rupturing.

"Okay! Okay! Come on, Hannah. Do us all a favour." I reasoned, and she sighed, and nodded, and gave Meiko a pat on the back.

"Come on. Back to drinking for you." Hannah urged, and Meiko brushed her chestnut hair aside, and pointed a finger accusingly at Miku.

"She wasted one perfectly good glass of Sakae by knocking over it while trying to say hi!" She growled, but retreated into the house nonetheless.

"You okay, Miku? Hey, I was under the impression that every Vocaloid only have things to make themselves clean and smell nice..?" I asked Miku, who cocked her head at the question, and wagged her finger.

"But Meiko smells of alcohol!" Miku responded, and I gave a loud sound of approval-

"OHHHHHHHHHH! LIKE VOCALOID, LIKE OWNER."

"Hush up, Barzini. You're here to give my brother tuition right? You better be as good as you say. 35 bucks an hour is no joke… I could have-" She started but I already took off my shoes and stepped into the house, with Miku's hands on my shoulder, as she became my shadow, moving only when I move, for there is a terrible foe in this house… An alcoholic… The bearer of the liquid of death… Meiko…

"Oh, welcome again, Barzini! Here's your month's tuition fee… Looks like you got a vocaloid too…" Hannah's mother handed me a brown envelope, and I smiled, and took it. Hey, I'm only 16. We all love money somehow. Especially when you worked extremely hard for it.

"Thank you, auntie. I try my best." I bowed a little, and placed the brown envelope in my bag, and Hannah's mother smiled, and guided me to Hannah's brother's room, where he was relaxing in.

"Barzini! Can I come in too?" Miku whispered fearfully, and I nodded silently, and closed the door behind us.

"Have you did you work?" I asked, and the boy nodded.

I picked up the book and read through. All one-liners.

Remind me why I want to quit sometimes?

Xxx

"So… Hitler thought that Britian and France would still remain silent if here were to take the Polish Corridor and Poland like they did in the Sudetenland Crisis. But he was wrong, and after failing to withdraw from Poland, Britian and France declared war on him… Starting World War Two. Understand?" I asked, closing the textbook.

"Yes…" He said half-heartedly and I sighed, and nodded as I packed my bag, and bade him farewell as I left the room.

"See you at the opening of the Virtual Store, Hannah! Bye Meiko!" I bowed a little, and Meiko gave me a dismissive nod, and I hurriedly left with Miku.

"Don't call me mean from now. The entire earnings of 3 students are going to you… That's over a thousand by the way…" I shot a look at Miku, and saw that she was skipping.  
>"Really! Then Miku can have a lot and a lot of leek?" Her eyes sparkled, and she gave me a hug, making a sound that sounded like uhh… The world famous-<p>

"Nyan~!"

Xxx

Echo Lite. The name of the Crypton school for virtual items for your Vocaloids and a few souveniers exclusively to people who have Vocaloids in the school. However, the queue was surprisingly short that day. Much to my surprise anyway.

"Hey! Miku fella!"

Miku and I turned around, and I laughed. It was my best friend Amos. We knew each other for about 6 years now. Behind him, Kagamine Rin was behind him, upon which Miku skipped to her, and tried to get her to talk, but Rin replied one word for about every few sentences that Miku says. Not surprising though, it's kind of well known among Vocaloid fans that Rin does not like Miku much outwardly, but inside, her love for this cyan-haired nutcake is probably growing.

"How you doing. Man!" Amos grinned, and we shook each other's hands, and exchanged a few updates on our lives.

"I heard you've been selling Toshiba laptops. Any luck?" I asked, and Amos sighed, shaking his head.

"Times are tough, my man. People ask me for directions to the Lenovo laptops instead…" He sighed, and for once, Rin broke into a grin at something Miku said, and tried to straighten her face immediately.

"That was not funny." Rin replied, glaring at Miku who pouted and walked back to me, having been constantly rebuked by Rin.

"Yes man… Due to me having a Vocaloid now, I need to cut back on my own expense…Say bye bye to a brand new laptop. But what's for sale anyway?" I asked, and Amos shrugged.

"How should I know? I suppose… Well… Nice things? Anyway, I need to meet up with my friends. See you later." Amos waved, and I waved back as well, smiling.

Poor Miku… Still waving frantically at Rin who refused to even give her a dismissive nod… Poor poor Miku…

"Barzini! Rin ignored me! Rin Kagamine ignored me! She ignored me!" Miku complained loudly, attracting the attention of other passer-bys. Rightly, I ignored all the stares that others were giving us. You'll get used to it after sometime.

Xxx

"Nicole!" I cried as I saw the black haired girl, with a man (Well, Vocaloid) wearing a blue matching blue scarf to his hair.

"Hey, Barzini. Why is it not crowded?" She asked, and I shrugged. I ain't complaining, but seriously, why?

"I guess your answer is that there are other days… Everyone has the same mentality, so they won't come here straight away to get what their Vocaloids want. It is a rather tragic mentality anyway."

I turned around and saw the same Caucasian man who had guided us in and out of the building, and I waved at him. Miku waved hurriedly at the man with both her hands before she started "chirping" at Kaito again, who was trying his very best to be as polite as possible.

"Hello, sir." I bowed my head a little, and Nicole gave this ninety degrees bow to the man, her long black hair falling all around her face, and the man bowed back as well, with a slight grin on his face.

Miku, singing them, squealed and went to the centre, and bowed to both of them.

"Ohayo~!" Miku chirped, and we all laughed. Was Miku driven by her surroundings as well? Well, maybe she was polite too, seeing how amiable and approachable she is.

"You folks better stay nearer the gates for the free promotional items. The shutters shall open anytime soon… Along with the canteen. Now, if you'll excuse me." The Caucasian man smiled and left.

"Yes… Promotional items!" I punched the air and saw Nicole staring at me.

"What?" I asked defensively and she rolled her eyes.

"What's with you and cheap stuff? Cheapskate!" She stuck out her tongue, and I rolled my eyes in turn.

"I am a true Singaporean and proud of it! Come, Miku!" I gestured for the cyan haired nutcak- I mean, girl to come to my side, and even though they were at such a close distance, she waved goodbye to Kaito with both her hands, jumping up and down as she did so, and moved to stand beside me.

"The air is so much cleaner in this glass structure." I sighed, and took a deep breath, stretching my arms, and unknowingly, my hands went through Miku. Though to me, it did zero damage, she recoiled, and yelped.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" She pouted, and looked away, her mouth puffed up, and I shrugged. Fine… Fine.. I'll watch out next time.

All that was separating us from the Vocaloid store is just a thick glass door, made opaque by imprints of all the most famous Vocaloids. Including Hatsune Miku.

"I see myself!" Miku jumped a little, waving both her hands in the air, and I grinned, and was about to make a cheeky comment when the glass door rolled open, and everyone who was outside stoned for a moment, and I could feel adrenaline pumping within my body. In my mind, there was a flashback when I watched television.  
>"Spartans! Lay down your weapons!" I could hear that Persian solder on the horse command, and my hands slackened for a brief moment, and I saw the Persian soldier hit the floor.<p>

"Persians!"

"Come and get them!" The voice of the Spartan sounded loudly in my mind, and I tensed up again, leg poised to break into a run.

"Give them nothing! But take from them! EVERYTHING!" and as if all at once, everyone outside of the store gave a loud war cry, and ran towards the entrance.

"GET THEM!" Someone shouted above the din and ran towards the entrance. I was not about to be outrun. With a quick gesture at Miku, I broke into a sprint, and jumped into the store, and looked around quickly, and I saw Miku pause in her tracks. There wasn't any like huge baskets for you to grab onto, nor as if there was a lot to grab for.

"Dude. Just one of each item?" I asked loudly, and my thoughts seemed to be echoed with everyone else around me, until Miku walked over and shook her head.

"You got a smartphone right?" She asked me, and annoyed, I nodded.

"What's my iPhone got to do with all of these nonsense?" I snapped, and she sighed her head dramatically, too much left, too much right. Like I said, she is cute to the point you feel like punching her across the face.

"Okay! Come! Come! My leek! My leek!" She bounced up and down and skipped to the area where there was a leek lying there, and there was a barcode.

"Okay, now just scan it with your barcode app!" She smiled, and me, a bit disbelievingly, scanned it, and okay. A leek costs me… Wait… FIVE BUCKS?

"Dude! A leek from my market costs me cents! BUCKS? SERIOUSLY?" I whispered loudl to her, and she shrugged.

"I am a Vocaloid! I am special!" She twirled about the spot, both her hands at the side. If she was real, her hair would have whipped me across the face a couple of times by now.

"Oh? Then what?" I asked, staring at the price with a heavy heart. If this was the price of a leek, may God help us all.

"Okay, you then use an Auto-uploader! Then the money will be deducted from your bank account!" She smiled, and I nodded, following the instructions, and eventually, I received a confirmation for purchase, and when I looked up, Hatsune Miku was holding a leek.

"Thank you, Barzini!" Miku squealed as she held up the leek as if it was a gold bar to me, and she ran at me, and hugged me.

Heck. Anything for my Vocaloid. Just for a hug.

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>A chapter done by me, Barzini! Oh. In case you fellas have been wondering, I write one chapter, Nicole, the second, and the cycle repeats :) Was so proud of my co-author the other day T^T<strong>

**Term's going to start in around chapter 4/5/6? No idea :P But I got the general storyline all worked out with my co-author who has happily contributed about 80% of it :P**

**Thanks for reading! Till we meet again! **


	4. Chapter 4

I stuck my finger down the heel of my shoe and pulled my sport shoes on, it was the day of the vocaloid store opening and I didn't know who was more enthusiastic about it, me or Kaito, it was opening at noon today and I was going to the bank first, I needed to up my credit limit, for I expected to buy lots of stuff for Kaito, and I knew it was going to be expensive, yes yes I'm one who will spoil rotten my vocaloid.

"Come on…hurry!" Kaito urged, pacing back and forth, while I was hopping on the spot trying to get the other side of my shoe on. "Go get the lift first," I waved. He stopped for a second, eyes going blank, then he reported, "it's here already!" By then, I had already thankfully locked the door and was walking to the lift. Kaito's been nagging me the whole day about how blue sea salt ice cream was his favourite and that it was a pity that they didn't have it in Singapore.

"Ok…ok…I'm here! Let's go!"

We walked to the bus stop and waited a bit for the bus, boarding the bus, I tapped my card on the reader and Kaito and I took the last two seats at the back of the bus, my favourite corner seat was taken by a girl, her white hair was long and was tied at the nape of her neck with a big ribbon, I was thinking that her hair length could rival Miku's, I was still lost in my thoughts when Kaito exclaimed, pointing a finger at my current subject of interest, "It's Haku!" I could see the gears in my brain turning, Haku…Haku…ah!...yes I remember!...she sings the same genre of songs as Miku. I glanced at her, and saw her visibly cringe at Kaito's outcry. Wait…so if a vocaloid is here so must her master, funny how I was taking this vocaloid thing easily, my eyes then drifted to the seat next to Haku, he was short, or at least that was the first thought that came to my mind, he was wearing a cap, pulled low over his face, leaning back I caught a glimpse of red hair, I was still documenting his features when the bus jerked suddenly and threw me forward, Kaito's hand shot out to stop my fall, but of course it would pass right through me, but to my surprise I stopped half way and fell back into my seat, looking at the hand on my other shoulder, a saw a shock of red hair, as the cap from the guy next to me dropped onto his lap, he quickly removed his hand and mumbled to me, "You all right?"

I stared rudely for a moment longer, cause well red hair in singapore was a rare sight, nodding, I replied, "Uhuh…thanks…" then in a more questioning voice, I asked, "That's Haku…your vocaloid?"

"Ah…yea…"

"Hehh…so you got in too!" I said brightly, wanting to dispel the awkwardness.

"Um…hmm…"

Offering my hand, I continued, "Name's Nicole…and that's Kaito," pointing to where Kaito was trying to get Haku to talk.

"Ah…Allen…" he mumbled, shaking my hand hesitantly.

"Allen…huh!...ok!...Are you coming for today's opening sale?" I chirped.

"Ah…I think maybe later…" he replied.

I looked up and saw that the bus was at my stop, then fumbling, I said, "Ahh!...My stop!...Gotta go!...See you soon!...Kaito lets go!" Giving a wave to Allen and Haku, who just limply waved back, Kaito and I just managed to slip off the bus just as the doors were closing.

Xxx

"Thank goodness we didn't miss the stop!"

"Uhuh…if we missed it, it would have been your fault…" Kaito replied, sticking out his tongue.

"What! Now it's my fault!" I was waving my arms about.

Kaito then pointed to the bank, "So…you gonna go in or not, the opening is in an hours time…"

Making a face at him, I hurried off to the bank.

Xxx

"Uwaa….! The shop is so big!"

There were multiple posters, proclaiming special promotions and offers as well as images of various vocaloids greeted me, as I walked into the school, the shop name was finally revealed to be Echo Lite, after Kaito and I were speculating weird names like Pocky Haven and Aisu Paradise, yup, imagination definitely ran away with it.

I was just wondering around when I heard someone call, "Nicole!" Turning I saw Barzini and a hyper Miku, who was already bounding over to Kaito as I waved.

Looking around I asked, "Hey, Barzini! Why is it not crowded?"

He shrugged and answered, "I guess your answer is that there are other days… Everyone has the same mentality, so they won't come here straight away to get what their Vocaloids want. It is a rather tragic mentality anyway."

"Huh…" I mumbled thinking to myself, who would want to wait, then the question was answered by me as I remembered Haku and Allen on the bus. Lost in my thoughts, I heard Barzini say Hello, looking up I saw the same man that escorted us to the back door the last time, bowing politely I said, "Ohayo…" The man bowed back and Miku cut in with her own version of a cute a slightly hyper high pitched ohayo of her own.

The man then said, "You folks better stay nearer the gates for the free promotional items. The shutters shall open anytime soon… Along with the canteen. Now, if you'll excuse me." Giving another bow, he walked away.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Barzini gave a whoop and said, "Yes… Promotional items!"

I rolled my eyes as I heard Barzini say, "What?" Thinking to myself, What's with you and cheap stuff? Cheapskate! Realising that I said that out loud, I quickly stuck my tongue out, as I caught him rolling his eyes at me! He dared!

Waving me off, he said, "I am a true Singaporean and proud of it! Come, Miku!" I watched as Miku waved bye to Kaito in her hyper ways.

Kaito came up next to me and I asked, "So…what did you guys talk about?"

"Uhh…Miku was just telling me about how awesome her stay with Barzini has been…she was talking about history something about the cold war…I didn't really manage to get a word in…" he replied.

Nodding my head in sympathy, I knew what he meant, all my facebook chats so far with Barzini had been riddled with history facts, not that I'm complaining but getting lost in the dates is confusing. I guess he rubbed off on Miku, replying to Kaito, "Yup, I guess with her personality…"

By then a crowd had gathered at the entrance of the store, Kaito and I stood a distance away, the plan we decided was to wait till the first frenzy was over then take out time, Kaito had already explained the usage of smartphones and I had already downloaded the necessary apps, there was no hurry. As everyone stampeded in, saw Kaito fidgeting, "You're just itching to get the aisu right…"

Closing his eyes, he nodded his head vigorously, causing the end of his scarf flap quickly, then he said, "But…it's ok…I'll wait…because I know Nicole-sama doesn't really like crowded places…"

I sighed, he looked so cute when he does that, but, too considerate!

"Come on! Let's go now!" it was still crowded but anything for Kaito right?

Kaito's eyes lit up and he grabbed my hand, pulling me through the crowded, he located the blue sea salt aisu that he had been talking about since I bought the Häagen-Dazs ice cream home, pointing to it, he exclaimed, "Aisu! Aisu!" hopping about on the spot, no explanations were needed as I took out my phone and scanned a picture of the barcode, I glanced at the price tag, $10 for a stick of ice cream…well I guess my savings aren't going to last for long, waiting for the purchase to process, I looked at Kaito and watched as his face became so animated as he held the stick of ice cream, his expression was one of pure delight. Waving my hand in front of him, "Uhh…Kaito…you there…" No response, I sighed, "Oookk…You better eat it before it melts ok…I'm going to the bike section now…" Turning to walk, I saw that Kaito was following in a very floaty kind of way.

Making my way through the shelves, I reached the sports department of the store, let's see, wakeboards, roller-blades, skis…wait it doesn't even snow in Singapore! Unless, we could bring our vocaloids on vacation!...hmm…definitely going to ask that question soon…umm…where was I…ah…badminton rackets, tennis, table-tennis, soccer balls, hockey, some other lesser known sports…I rounded the last shelf…where were the bikes! Back tracking, I went through the shelves again. They didn't have bikes?

I spotted the Caucasian man at the corner of the store, hurrying towards him, I asked, "They do sell bikes here, right?"

Looking up from what looked like a stock list, he said, "Hmm…I think we do have them, but they have to be specially ordered…umm…let me check…" he looked down at his list. "Ah…I'm sorry but it looks like the only way to get a bike is to parallel import it from Japan…but here's the website you can get it at…" Passing me a slip of paper with the URL written on it.

Walking around the store some more, I bought some snacks for Kaito and another scarf , blue of course but with patterns and also a box full of ice cream.

"No more…" Kaito said sadly.

I turned from scanning another barcode, to look at Kaito, he was holding out the ice cream stick. "You can have another when we get home."

"But…" he said, showing me puppy eyes in the hope that he could get another stick, no…I was determined not to give in and I think he knew it too so he settled for an, "Ok" Wanting to distract him with something, I changed the topic.

"Well, remember I said about getting you a bike?...According to the staff around here they don't seem to have bikes, so I'm going to have to fly it in from Japan, when we get home we'll see the types they have online, ok?" he nodded, "Ok!" Phew…looks like he gets over aisu as fast as he gets hyper over them.

Looking past his shoulder, I saw a familiar person, pigtails…ah! Raising my hand in a wave, I called, "Yukina! Over here!"

She turned as Kaito looked over his shoulder; he gave a little wave to Piko who was standing next to Yukina.

"Hi! So what have you gotten so far for Piko?" I asked.

"Ah…this and that I guess…but I got him marshmallows and I suppose you got Kaito ice cre-she was cut off as I cupped my hand to her mouth, "Shh…" glancing over to where Kaito was talking to Piko thankfully he didn't hear, so I continued, "it took me a long time for him to get over that…so…" Nodding her head in understanding I removed my hand.

"So…what classes are you taking?" I asked.

Nodding her head shyly, she said, "…I'll be taking…Literature as my major…and the basic classes of everything else I guess."

"Cool!... I never understood Literature…I'm taking Mathematics as my major…apparently I didn't do too bad in the calculus parts for the entry test."

"Math…huh…never got that either…" she mumbled.

Nodding I waved to Kaito, "Come on! Time for us to go!" Then to Yukina, I said, "Hope we end up in the same class!"

Waving bye, we left the school premises.

Xxx

Reaching home, I barely had the time to change, when the door bell rang.

"I'm coming!" I shouted, my feet slapping the linoleum as I ran to get the door, I was expecting the delivery of my textbooks this evening, hence the rush to get home.

Signing the delivery acknowledgement slip, I grabbed the box by the two handles and carried it into my bedroom. Flapping open the box, I started accounting for all the books I was supposed to get for my year one course.

"Lets see…Guide to writing good English compositions, check…Globe: Complete guide to Geography, check…Sums: We pretty much sum it up, check…Science: All you need to know and some, check…His-story: the one way trip to be a gHeek…Literally Alliterated Literature, check…and for my major…Plus: The additional formulas the you didn't need to know, check.

Now if you were thinking that some of these titles are a bit whack, well I thought so too, so high five!

As I was counting out all the books that I had, Kaito was starring at the pile.

"So…Nicole has to study all of that?" he pointed.

"Mmmhmm…lucky you don't have to go through all this…" I murmured. My hand hit the bottom of the box, looking down I saw a letter, with the school's crest embossed on it.

Opening the letter, it read.

_Dear Miss Nicole,_

_It is our greatest pleasure to have you in our school, we trust that the books have been delivered and you are ready to begin the new school year. Enclosed will be the school's classroom as well as dormitory layout and general guidelines and rules of The School of the Future._

_Your timetable will be accessible a week before term starts on the school's academic portal._

_Regards,_

_Hiroyuki__Itō_

_Principal_

I flipped to the next page, and found the said enclosed floor plan of the school, and then on a separate sheet of paper the rules…

_All students are to take note of the following general rules and guidelines._

_Students are to stay in their dorms during school term and only under special permission from the principal would the student be allowed to return home during school term._

_Students may wish to return home a visit their family once every fortnight._

I snorted at this statement, I didn't even think my parents will notice me missing till they run out of groceries, perhaps some time away from the house would be good for them…

_Students may not visit the dorm rooms of the opposite gender, meetings may be held in the common rooms instead._

_All music rooms are open for students usage at anytime, and must be booked at least 3hours beforehand._

_A pass in the subject Music is compulsory and will be assessed through Course Work. (which will be further explained when term starts)_

_Participation in Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs) is also compulsory to gain the necessary credits to graduate. (Selection of CCA will be done within the first week of school.)_

I reread that line, CCAs were compulsory…oh joy…it's not that I didn't like them but I just had the natural interest for everything…in my last school I think was involved in almost every little project there was…what should I join this time, I wondered…

_Vocaloids are to follow their masters to whatever classes their masters take._

After reading point number seven, I looked up at Kaito, "It looks like you have to come with me to class…"

A shocked look, passed his face, "Ehh! I have to come to class with you!...demo(but)!...You take Math major right?" he covered his eyes with his hands, then opening up his fingers he peered though them, "I'm not sure about my Math abilities…"

I looked at his cute gestures for a while before reassuring him and saying, "It's not you have will have to do the sums! It's me! Don't get too freaked out ok?"

Back to reading the rules…

_There will be individual and group music competitions which will utilise your respective vocaloids and winning the competition will entitle the winner to a limited edition item from Echo Lite. _

_Students are free to wear what they wish, however mini skirts and other similar articles of clothing are not allowed. (Vocaloids are to also abide by this rule)_

Kaito was sitting next to me by now and he exclaimed as I read rule number nine, "With that rule…Barzini-sama will not be able to by Miku her favourite mini skirts…" then Kaito eyes went out of focus.

"Umm…Kaito…you there?" I asked, waving my hand in front of him, no response, must be on Facebook online somewhere, so I went back to reading the last rule.

_Laptops(equipped with the Vocaloid 3 software) are required for all lessons and the usage of mobile phones is not allowed at all times, except after official school hours or during recess._

"So, I need to get the Vocaloid 3 software, huh…" I said out loud, "I'd better start thinking about upgrading my computer RAM…"

"…who are you gonna ram, Nicole?" Kaito tilted his head to the side, in a questioning stare.

"Ahh…nothing…nevermind…so who was online?"

"Miku…" he said.

"And…" I continued, trying to coax out a more substantial answer.

"…she was spamming my wall again…" he said quickly, then, "it was about the rule for not allowing mini skirts in school…"

Now understanding I nodded, "You want me to talk to Barzini about this?"

Shaking his head vigorously in a 'No!', he said, "I already sent a message to Miku about it."

I was right! The job at East Coast Park getting him to talk to people has made him more confident, well if he thought he could handle it, then I was not going to say anything.

Packing everything back into the box according to subject, I pulled out my laptop and turned it on. Typing in the URL from this afternoon, into the browser, I pulled up the search on bicycles for vocaloids.

Lying down on the floor one hand on my chin I watched as Kaito did the same next to me, and I flicked through the catalogue online.

"How about this one?" I jabbed my computer screen.

"Not blue…" Kaito mumbled.

"Ok…ok…then this one?" I pointed to a blue bike with white rims, it looked even better than mine!

He grinned and nodded in approval.

I clicked 'Add to cart' and then proceeded to checkout.

"We can go cycling next week?" he questioned.

I broke into a smile and said, "Yup! And everyday if you wish!"

This was going to cost me about $600 plus shipping, but anything for Kaito right? Right?

* * *

><p><strong>Eto…sorry for taking so long for this chapter…haha…I was studying for my JLPT…once again Arigatou for reading my err…second piece on …makes me happy!...haha…so…Review (and I'll give you some Meron Pan)!...cause well some feedback is always nice Dewa Mata ne! (Till next time!)<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Another fabulous piece of work by my co-author :D<br>OC SUBMISSION CLOSED.**


	5. Chapter 5

"UHHH... NO." I said defiantly in the face of Miku, who was holding her leek in the manner of a... Sword?

"I WANT!" She pouted, and raised her leek, and I took a step back and fell onto the sofa, raising my hand to defend myself.

"What can Man do in face of such great evil..?" Theoden from the Lord of the Rings commented on the TV, as if trying to reinforce the view I had. I was spoiling Miku too much and should be showing that WHO run things around here, but everytime she gives you the I-am-sad face, your heart just softens and you give up.

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! NOW GIVE ME SOME SPACE TO BREATHE!" I raised my hand, and she broke into a wide smile, and gave me a hug.

"LEEK COLA! That settles it then!" She smiled, and I sighed in resignation.

"Arigato, Barzini!" She chirped, and pointed at my laptop, which was now giving off a blue glow at the keyboard.

"Laptop is pretty! I want one too next time! I shall work, just like you! And save up! So I can keep a storeroom of leek!" Miku smiled, and I shook my head ruefully.

"Uh-huh... Vocaloids can work?" I asked, and she promptly hit me over the head with her leek. True, it didn't hurt, but human instinct. I flinched.

"I didn't ask you for your opinion!" She pouted. Bingo. Vocaloids can't work. Great. Her leek expense is greater than my salmon expense, and considering that salmon is more expensive and consumed by me, I might just cry.

"Anyway... I'm all packed and ready to go... You don't have any luggage right?" I asked Miku, as I went through my checklist of items once again. I hate having to travel to and fro just for a missing toothbrush or something similar.

"All packed, Barzini-san!" She bowed, her cyan coloured hair sweeping the floor due to it's insane length.

"You don't even have anything to carry about to begin with... Now, laptop time!" I chimed, moving my mouse a little and keying in the password. Now, first off, hotmail.

"I think there's something like rules in it. I didn't open it because I know it'll be a terrible blow to me." I said to myself.

As I downloaded the .pdf file, Miku came to sit next to me, holding a comb that I had bought for her, along with some clothes and some-  
>Oh, what did I buy for her? You sure you want to know? Shopping list as follows.<p>

1. Leek  
>2. Leek Ice-Cream (Don't worry. I had a shock too when I found out this was a favour)<br>3. Shirt with a leek imprint on it.  
>4. Some clothes for her. A revolutionary jeans and dress, which she was appalled that I would get for her instead of a mini-skirt.<br>5. Some basic hair accessories which she said she lacked.

Oh, and the promotional item we got for free? Was actually a ballroom gown for Miku… As usual, the human companion gets nothing for being the one who initiated the wait by screaming at a sleeping Vocaloid until she woke up.

As I went through the rules, I spotted nothing in particular really, other than the one that requested that none be dressed in mini-skirts, so when I brought this case to her-

"NO MINI-SKIRTS? THEN WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO WEAR! IT'S MY SIGNATURE!" She wailed, and I couldn't help but agree to the latter of her statement. Hatsune Miku's signature costume was her black and cyan coloured. Asking her to wear something else was a bit… But rules are rules, you know!

"Anyway, come, let's go put our baggage at the dormitory first, and walk about the area first. I want to know how the whole facility is like…" I grunted, heaving up my two bags, and Miku did a small bow saying-

"Hai~!"

"Okay… I'll get dad to drive us there first." I said, placing my bag down at the door, and walked to the Study.

Xxx

"Remember, son. Call us often, drink more water, have regular meals, manage your finances, don't talk to strangers, and remember to drink some orange juice every day." My dad repeated the run-on sentence in the car over and over.

"Yes, okay." Would be my response each time. I was used to it already… However, I doubt Miku was not. She kept staring at me each time my father started the sentence from the first word, and would look away when he finishes.

By the time he dropped us off along with our luggage, it was already 4pm… Apparently, we were not alone in moving in a day early as well. A lot of people were there with their luggage, and with the Vocaloid store still open, some people were doing shopping with their Vocaloids as well.

"Come along then… 5th floor… Here I come…" I picked up my luggage and walked to the elevator with Miku beside me, smiling politely at the sight of a friendly face and looking away when I think I see a potential punk.

Inside the cool glass structure, I can see that there were some changes landscaping wise. There were flowers that lined the path, and man-made ponds with fish swimming about in them, and the deeper I moved into the structure, there were even so-called streets, which were outside of the school compound that sold food and more items other than the canteen and general store.

"Huh… This place is weird. But I'm going to go to the dormitory first." I said to myself, and with Miku bouncing behind me, I walked towards the building that looked sort of like a mansion, and as I reached it, there was a crowd of people there as well, apparently having their papers checked before gaining entry.

"What's going on, dear sir?" I asked a staff, who showed me the papers necessary to enter the building.

"Dude, aren't those sent in emails?" I asked him, wide-eyed. We were supposed to print them?

"Yes… But apparently all of you kids nowadays refuse to read fine print… Hey, you got a laptop right?" He asked me, noticing the laptop that I had, cradled in my left arm, with my right hand now holding the luggage.

"Yes sir. What's it to you?" I asked, narrowing my eyes and hugging my laptop protectively. It was worth more to me than my collection of Emma Watson autographs…. I think.

"Just show us the email, and you're in." He said hastily, before moving on to another "lost soul" near me.

Alright…

Xxx

"No seriously, I can handle my own luggage." I insisted, as a bell boy turned up and offered to carry my luggage for me to my room. This seriously does not look like a dormitory, but more like a five-star hotel.

When you step foot into the halls, a receptionist greets you, the whole place is air-conditioned and floored with carpet properly. The building still smells slightly of paint, but other than that, you'd think you were on holiday.

"No sir, please. Allow me." The bell boy took the keys from the receptionist, and holding my luggage, side-stepped Hatsune Miku who was swaying about the spot, and led us to our room. Into a glass elevator we went, and to the fifth floor.

"Your room is Room 1. Here are your keys. Please note that we are not allowed to enter your rooms to clean up for you, so please take good care of your room and only call upon us in the case of an emergency. Thank you." He placed my luggage outside of the lift, and bowed as Miku and I exited, before the elevator doors closed.

"Alright. Room 1." I said, walking to the first door at my right, which had the number 1 on it. So…. Time for the keys…

"Barzini-san. Why is opening a door taking so long?" Miku asked me as I stared at the keys in my hand and the door knob.

"Shh… Our contact will hear us." I said in a lowered voice, though in the back of my head, someone, or my inner mind was telling me that I was being stupid.

"Prepare to breach…" I assumed the normal breaching pose in Call of Duty and opened the holding my luggage in one hand, and unlocking the door, I quickly opened the door and entered in slow motion-

"Barzini! BAKA!" Miku cried as she shook her head, walking past me as I continued to move about in slow motion until 5 seconds later.

"Oh, blame for being a Call of Duty player." I stuck out my tongue, and closed the door.

There was a door next to mine. Okay, not really a door. It's just a framed doorway, and inside, it looked most…

"My room!" Miku said happily, and jumped onto her bed, which was rather big, coloured green and white… And it was shaped… Like a leek?

"Alright… Cool…" I muttered as I entered her room.

It was painted in a fantastic mix of turquoise and blue, with two windows facing the campus. There was also a desktop computer there.

"Hey, don't you all have virtual stuff too? These can all be used by me." I said, patting the bed and realizing that it was solid.

"Well, of course. However, these can be used by Vocaloids too… Even the computer… But they are mine! Get away! You are invading my privacy!" She pouted, trying to push my hand away, but obviously failing to.

She is telling me about privacy? Tell me about the time she tried to follow me to the bathroom.

"I like your computer…" I said, bending down to examine it. It had a custom made case, but it's screen was sleek, and came along with a flexible and portable keyboard.

"Go check out YOUR room!" She pouted, sweeping her hair aside, and walked to the fridge in MY room, and she placed her hand on a scanner which was on the fridge, and it opened.

"That is cool!" I walked over, and examined the fridge. Inside, I could see all the leek (in their virtual form) in the vegetable and fruits compartment, and my own human- I mean, drinks and snacks for humans in it.

"Barzini! You don't have to scan your hand by the way! It's just to let the fridge know that I'm going to use it and I expect to see what I want to see!" She held up a leek, and with one eye closed, leant forward and waved it in my face.

My room was painted white, and just like Miku, it had two windows and a bed by it, along with a wardrobe and end table.

"Nice… I like my room painted white…" I whistled, and sat down on my bed to test it. Rather bouncy, but not too hard. Just nice.

"Barzini! What kind of bed is that!" She cried out, pointing at it, as if the bed I was sitting on offended her terribly.

"What? What? What? What's wrong?" I asked, scratching my head, looking at the bed. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"It is so typical! Typical! Maybe Miku should get you a Tiger Tank bed for your birthday. So you can sleep well in your tank. You and your history." She stuck out her tongue and I rolled up my eyes, but couldn't help but grin.

"Oh right. But I don't dream about all these things… And I prefer my dreams to be happy. So well, I like this bed very much! Thank you!" I smiled, and she cocked her head.

"What do you dream about?" She asked, and I shrugged.

"Depending. It can range from me running away from a zombie horde to me just being in a really weird scenario… They mostly occur in school anyway… Do Vocaloids dream?" I asked, and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Those dreams of yours aren't sweet or happy! Sweet dreams are made of me and me only and you are not even allowed to dream of yourself...only meeee!" She waved her leek again in my face, and her other hand wagging a finger in my face. Like I said. Luckily, she's a vocaloid. Or I'd punch her in the face from her cuteness.

"Yes, yes. Whatever." I stuck out my tongue and started unpacking my clothing into the wardrobe. Oh, my range of clothing is tiny by the way, because I seriously do not care about fashion.

"Hey, Miku! Get something longer to wear!" I told her, and she shook her head.

"No! I only wear them when there is school! No school, no long dresses!" She pouted, and I sighed.

"Alright. Come on…" I smiled, and we headed to our great exploration of the compound.

Xxx

It didn't take me long to find out that within the structure, there was a mini-city other than the school. There were streets of stalls that catered to both humans and Vocaloids. And their pricings were a heck a lot more expensive for Vocaloid goods. How do I know, you say?

"Oh my god! Check this out! They even sell Shakugan no Shana's cosplay Alastor necklace here!" I fanboy-ed, eyes getting wide, and mouth getting wider.

"Nice! Miku wants!" She said, bending down beside me to examine it. The necklace even gave a yellow-orange glow in it, just like the anime.

"One for you, young sir? 15 dollars. And for the Vocaloid, 30."

Know how I know now?

As we walked further down the street, there were shops that sold candy and ice cream. Even Haagen-daaz was there.

"Barzini! Leek cola! Buy here! Buy now!" She pointed at a store where an old lady was manning it.

"Okay… Okay…" I sighed, and walked to the old lady.

"May I have a leek cola please?" I asked, and the old lady handed a can to me.

"Uhh… No, it's for my vocaloid." I pointed out, and she gave me the barcode to scan, and after a while, Miku was holding a can of leek cola.

"Miku. By your life. You sure it tastes nice?" I paid reluctantly for a can of my own, and held it up as it was dynamite.

"Of course!" She said, opening it to drink.

"Okay…" I opened it and took a sip, and to my amazement, it tasted decent.

"Hmm… Not bad!" I grinned, taking another sip.

"Hatsune Miku is always right!" She flashed a smile, and hi-fived me.

Down the street, there were also stalls that sold snacks, which were also available for Vocaloids, along with even local dishes like Hainanese Chicken Rice available for both human and Vocaloid consumption.

"Crypton Future Media really outdone themselves this time…" I wondered aloud, looking around.

This was going to be amazing. I just know it. This Vocaloid journey of mine.

Xxx

The next day, I woke up about two hours early to brush up, and went down to the canteen (the streets were a bit too dark for my liking) to get some food for myself and Miku, who was still asleep. I got both of us waffles. I tried very hard to look for something with purely leek, but that is a near impossibility.

"Whoa… Okay, I know scanning lets me buy it. But uhhh… Where does my fish soup end up in?" I asked the vendor and he laughed.

"Okay son, let me teach you a lil' sumthin. Ya see, for the canteen, your Vocaloid food will be delivered to the table in your room. Just getcha Vocaloid to eat em. Then, in the streets or districts outside of here and the general store, your Vocaloid will have the food or whatever you bought with em, unless it is meant to stay in a room. Geddit, kid?"

"Thank you sir." I mumbled, and true enough. I saw Hatsune Miku's waffles on the table, and after thirty minutes, I walked to her room and called out-

"Miku! Wake up! Breakfast!" I said loudly, but she was still sound asleep. Her eyes closed, a slight smile across her face. She was wearing the shirt with a leek imprint on…

"Miku!" I said slight louder this time, and her eyes slowly opened, and she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Morning… Barzini-san… DO I SMELL FOOD?" She brightened up, and skipped to the table where she saw the waffles.

"YAY! Arigato, Barzini! Me go washey upey! Be right back!" She ran to the bathroom in her room and closed it, leaving me behind stunned.

It seemed as if every day was fully appreciated by Miku in every way. It's as if she would be the perfect human if she was alive. Appreciative about life and not complaining about it.

As we made our way through the waffles, she asked me a question.

"Barzini, why do you look so moody everytime you wake up?" She asked, cocking her head, and taking a large bite off the waffle.

"Very good question. I think it's like this for most people. Obviously you want to wake up atr your own timing and not get forced off your bed by the alarm clock or something like that." I said, and she looked at her waffle for a while, before nodding.

"I get you! You're lazy!" She laughed, and I scowled.

"Nothing to do with that! Nothing!"

Xxx

"Miku, come along now. Change into something longer." I said, and she stood there for a while, looking at her shirt and mini-skirt.

"Do I change into jeans or…?" She looked at me, her head tilted slightly.

"Don't ask me… You should know that I'm a fashion disaster." I said, dressed in my grey shirt and blue jeans.

"Mhm! No peeking while I change!" She wagged her finger in my face and I rolled my eyes, and sat at my bed waiting, with my laptop ready, and with my bag holding my history textbooks and notebook.

"Ta-da! How do I look!" I heard her say and I looked up.

She was dressed in a white dress, which surprisingly managed to present Hatsune Miku in a very elegant light, and I watched as she got into her cyan coloured heels, with the necklace I got her on earlier.

"Nice! Awesome!" I awed, walking around her and smiling approvingly.

"Arigato! Let's go, Barzini-san!" She smiled, and I slung my bag across my shoulder and opened the door for her, for which she smiled cheekily bowed.

"Thank you! Nyan~!" She chimed, and I smiled back.

"No. Thank you."

Xxx

"Alright, alternate seatings! Alternate seatings!" The teacher said loudly, clapping her hands together.

"Now, listen up! I am your history teacher, Mrs Gregory! This term, we will be covering the topics of World War One to Start of World War Two. Vocaloids will kindly refrain from talking and disturbing your human friends!" She snapped at Meiko who was talking to Hannah, who promptly fell silent.

"Now! World War One! Why did it have such an impact on the world!" The teacher said passionately, waving clenched fist dramatically in front of her.

"This was the beginning of the end for Imperial Germany, the beginning of two new Germanys to come… The destruction of the Ottoman Empire…" She said, as WW1 tanks rolled by dramatically on the big screen, with soldiers charging trenches.

Who else was in the same class as me? Let's see… Amoz… Michelle... God... So many unfamiliar faces in this tiny classroom.

"Alright! Now, get in groups of five! I want to see a mind map of the causes of World War One now now now!" She clapped her hands, like some drill sarge from the army, though the number of wrinkles on her face and the horizontal size of her was much to be said for.

I immediately stood up and joined Amoz, Michelle, Hannah, and there was this girl there who came over to join us.

"UHHHH... What's your name?" I asked, and she narrowed her eyes, as if weighing whatever possible harm I could to do her by uttering her name.

"I am... Karina. You all are?" She said, eyeing us, and we all gulped.

"I AM HATSUNE MIKU!" a hand suddenly shot from the right side to where Karina was, and we all burst out laughing. The tension between everyone instantly melted away by this innocent interruption.

"I AM SEEU!" a hand wearing a bracelet shot out from above Michelle's shoulder, making tingling sounds.

"Rin Kagamine." The yellow coloured hair Vocaloid extended her hand, even bending forward a little so that it was stretched longer than Miku.

"M-Meiko." Hannah's Vocaloid stretched out her hand which was trembling slightly. Overdose on the alcohol again, perhaps.

"Hello, all! I am Len Kagamine!" Rin's twin brother sprung up from behind Karina and Rin gasped.

"Len!" Rin cried out and went to hug her twin brother, and they held each other as now, with the necessary handshaking done, the humans took their turns to introduce themselves to each other.

"Alright, let's begin." I rubbed my hands together, until I felt a shadow looming- I mean, someone behind me. I turned around and saw a boy who was rather red around the ears, with a white haired Vocaloid beside him.

_Haku Yowane._

The Vocaloid cast a glance at Rin and Len hugging each other and looked away bitterly. Was it jealousy or sorrow? From what I recall of seeing her? She is portrayed as an outcast though she has an extremely sweet and nice personality, which makes her one of my all-time favourites.

"The teacher told me to join this group…?" the boy shifted uncomfortably, and Karina shifted to her right a little, closer to Hannah, letting the boy join in.

"Okay… So let's get started, shall we?" I clapped my hands together, and cracked my knuckles, eyeing the huge piece of paper.

"Alright, very simple. You have the Franco-Prussian war for one, when Germany seized territories from the French, who always wanted it back. Then, you can have arms and naval races… Example… Dreadnought warship…" I started saying casually, and when I saw that no one was writing, I paused.

"Whose going to write?" I asked, looking around. My eyes first fell on Hannah who shook her head. Then, Karina looked away, and Amoz reluctantly picked up his pencil, and started writing the points down.

As Amoz wrote, I turned around to look at the Vocaloids, who were holding their own private conversation, and from the looks of it, Meiko was having a splitting headache from the look on her face, and Len had a deck of Uno cards with him, specially built for Vocaloids of course. Miku was twirling her leek, and SeeU was twirling the end of her hair. Yowane was… Well, just looking at what was going on, hugging her legs.

"Oh yes, what's after History?" I asked, and Hannah rummaged through her bag, and pulled out a schedule.

"Music." She said triumphantly, and I let out a sigh. This two hours of history was going to be torturous to me for once.

"Okay… Any more points?" Amoz looked up from the paper, pushing up his spectacles, and I had to think a little. I cared more for World War Two then World War One really…

"You can write about the alliance system? Italy, Germany and Austria-Hungary forming the Central Powers. So, it raised tension in Europe when they announced the alliance… Right? So Britian, France and Russia formed the Triple Entente powers." I said, and Amoz proceeded to writing. I thought for a moment that Allen wanted to say something-

"You wanted to say something?" Karina shot at Allen, and my suspicion was correct. He DID want to say something.

"N-Well, I just thought maybe the more direct cause was just Russia arriving to aid the enemies of Austria-Hungary… But it's just a thought, nothing really… Please carry on." He muttered, and I frowned.

"That's correct… Yes, it is. Germany invaded France soon after through neutral Belgium which was under British protection. Why didn't you just say so earlier?" I asked, and I thought he visibly brightened up a little.

"Really?" He smiled, but not answering my question. Not that I needed an answer anyway. Having Haku as your Vocaloid already explains about half of your character, not that I'm complaining though. Haku Yowane is an awesome Vocaloid. To be able to see her already made my day.

Xxx

"Oh my god..." I dragged myself out of history class, hammering my shoulders. The boys in my class were all doing the same thing and moaning in pain. This was the first history lesson I had that was actually tiring. Why?

"How do different soldiers march! Now! Boys! Stand up and march with your Vocaloids! ONE TWO THREE FOUR!" She clapped, and the girls roared with laughter as the boys got forced to troop around the class to "understand the hardship of a soldier".

"Bloody insane woman!" I cursed under my breath, and saw Miku wiping perspiration from her forehead.

"You tired as well?" I panted slightly and she nodded. Marching in a dress was an insane idea, but knowing Miku, she did it for the fun.

"Music now. You okay? You seem very tired!" Hannah poked me in the shoulder and said that sentence in mock concern.

"Oh hush up." I looked around and saw that Allen was doubled over, with Haku panting slightly, combing her long white hair with her fingers, responding to Rin's attempt at conversation. A few words for a paragraph.

"Miku, come along now. Cannot... Be... Late... For... Class..." I took my handkerchief and wiped my perspiration away, and carrying my laptop, started walking towards the music room.

"Hai~! Barzini! There's still half hour till class starts. How about a nice rest? Miku needs it." She yawned, and I nodded reluctantly. I always liked to turn up for classes on time, or even better, earlier for them. But that mad woman made us march around the classes and most of us boys are aching all over, minus those in the uniformed groups. I signed up for AV Club which handles broadcast, projection, music and video making.

Oh, and did I mention that the Club would be having competitions frequently to win Vocaloid 3 items?

"Alright… We'll rest in the canteen for twenty minutes…" I said, and when we were walking down the stairs, we were joined by Hannah, Karina, Amoz, Michelle and their vocaloids.

"Haku Yowane! YOU COME HERE NOW!" my fellow turquoise haired companion said loudly, almost deafening me with her high voice, and the white haired Vocaloid standing beside Allen looked at us uncertainly.

She turned to look at Allen, who gave a small smile at her and nodded, and the both of them walked towards us.

"Yay! Now you come with me everywhere I go!" Miku said happily, twirling her leek, and Haku smiled, and gave all of us a little bow, and we smiled back in return.

Haku Yowane.

You're NOT going to be that white-haired lady who become an outcast.

You're going to be one of us, along with Allen.

Xxx

"Coke!" I said loudly at the vendor, and he handed over a can that was covered with droplets of water, and it was ice cold to my touch.

"Hey, you people. Order something!" I said to the gang behind me, and they surged forward, including the Vocaloids.

Let's play a game. Guess who ordered what. These are in a jumbled order. Note that we're discussing Vocaloids here.

_Sake which was not available. And was changed to Ice Lemon Tea forcefully by me.  
>Leek Cola.<em>  
><em>Two Sprites.<br>Fish soup at another stall.  
>Marshmallow with a bowl of hot chocolate.<em>

Answer:

Meiko. She needed a lot of persuasion to get that Sake changed to ice lemon tea. Obviously, within the school compound she couldn't get any. But out in the so-called Streets or Districts, she can get it. So, we convinced her that we'll allow her to go later on if she stay put with tea for now.

Leek. Need I say anymore?

For the twins Rin and Len Kagamine.

Remember SeeU? She has uhh…. Cat-like traits. She was so happy when she found out that for about five dollars, it could give her a decently large fish.

Haku Yowane ordered that. I swear I saw a smile on her face as she ate the marshmallow and drank the cup of hot chocolate.

For their human companions, it was simple enough. Coca cola.

"Ahhh… Refreshing…" Hannah let out a sigh of content as she chugged her can of Cola, and hammering her shoulders as if it was after a long day of work.

Yawning, I placed my head on the table and rocked the half-empty can of Coca Cola, making groaning sounds. The kind you make when you are bored as heck.  
>"I wonder what we will do for music… Who want to bet that our teacher will be as nuts as Mrs Gregory." Michelle raised her can of coke, and SeeU, hearing that, looked around.<p>

"Me! I bet 10 dollars!" the Vocaloid said, pawing her face.

"You don't have money." Hannah pointed out matter-of-factly and SeeU pouted, sticking her tongue out at Hannah before rejoining the conversation amongst the Vocaloids to get Haku to talk. Haku would just smile at a few funny comments, but seemed as if she would not join in the conversation. The one who was making the most voice was understandably, Hatsune Miku.

"Allen, what about you? If you bet, I throw in as well." I said, smiling at the overly shy boy, who choked on his can of Cola, causing some of us to grin while I gave him a good thumping on his back.

"T-thank you. I- I don't bet." He said softly, and I nodded.

"There you have it, Michelle. No cash outflow from me this time."

"I give five dollars, that she is as batty as Mrs. Gregory." Karina said calmly, and placed a five dollar bill on the table.

"Alright, if Karina is in, I'll bet the opposite. She is not." I placed five dollars on the table as well.

"Deal! I'm in for five!" Michelle grinned, and placed it at Karina's side.

"Five." Hannah took out a crisp bill and placed it on my side.

"Allen, come on." I turned to look at him and after a slight hesitation, he turned to Haku, who walked over to him and after a few moments of hushed whispering, he placed a five dollar bill on my side.

"Now… This lesson will be more interesting than it already is…"

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, sorry for this late chapter. As it's the holidays, I got bored and got involved in the world of Skyrim and Project Diva 2… And I would like to make a few things clear in this author's note also :P<strong>

**Okay, as of now, Barzini does not know of some of the OCs submitted yet, which will all change in the music lesson which will be covered by my fellow co-author who is away in Lala-land (Kidding, really. She's in a distant land, known as Skyrim. Kidding again. She's just overseas at the moment.)**

**And also, due to the point that we obviously cannot create music, we will be using some songs created already, which are lesser known to cover music projects or in some cases if needs be and our brains cracked, some more famous songs by them to cover music projects. Of course, full credit will be given in the author's note.**

**AND NO, IT WILL NOT BE A SONG FIC. WE ARE ONLY TAKING CERTAIN SENTENCES OF THE SONG. NOT THE WHOLE THING.**

**And for those of you interested in getting a Meron Pan from my co-author, private message me to get something really cute :P**

**Ciao! Hope you enjoyed the story!**


	6. Chapter 6

I was running around my room. Frantically. Madly. I was late (no surprise there actually)… for the first day of school...not good.

I was already dressed all I needed to do now was pack. I was grabbing clothes by the hangers and shoving it in the luggage, I managed to get all my stuff in with some prompting from Kaito for the minor reminders like not to forget chargers and toothbrush while he was trying to stay out of my way as much as possible, as I zipped across the room. I was ready in half an hour. Lugging my suitcase down to the front door, no one was there as usual, I scribbled a note to my parents and placed it on the kitchen table, once again reminding my parents that school term starts today and that they have to take care of themselves and get the groceries on their own (unless I chose to come back every fortnight, though I doubt so…they seriously needed to learn to do some stuff too), before throwing in a quick love ya, thanks and see you as a last line. Getting breakfast from the bakery around the corner, I was still holding the bread in my mouth when Kaito and I got in a cab to get to school.

"Nicole, why are you always in a rush?" Kaito exclaimed as he plopped himself next to me in the cab, well he has been running around with me ever since we met, so I guess such a question was only a matter of time…

"Hwell…"I began, then taking the meron pan out of my mouth, "I suppose its cause I always have lots to do! And being busy although tiring somehow is fulfilling in the end." I continued munching on my bread, as I look at Kaito.

"Huhh…", then he turned to me and with both hands on his lap, with a very serious face, and said, "Can you slow down, just a tiny little bit…cause…well…" unable to continue he scrunched up his face. I think he just didn't want to admit that he couldn't keep up sometimes.

I stared at him a moment longer, as he fidgeted on the spot, before replying, "Sure! I was thinking of slowing down myself." Then I added, "Besides without having to do the house chores and other things, I'll probably have more time to spare."

Relaxing he gave a small hug in thanks. Come to think of it, I always rush, I rush though everything, there just wasn't enough hours in the day to do all the things I needed to do. Hopefully this school that I'm starting this year wouldn't be as bad. I glanced at Kaito and realised that he probably was putting up with me all this while.

Xxx

The cab pulled into the driveway of the school, I was once again struck by how the school didn't actually look like a school, more like a mega shopping mall cum hotel with fancy stores and the like. There was a choice to either move in a day before school started or move in on the day itself, I wanted to get to school a day earlier but I need to stock up the fridge and pantry before my parents cry hunger in the middle of the week, so that was a no go for me, but moving in on the day itself was also nothing good, cause, obviously I didn't count on the fact that I had to do the dishes in the morning and make breakfast for my parents. It was already 8:30am and lessons started at 9am sharp.

Showing the appropriate documents, I was swiftly admitted as numerous people kept telling me how I was going to be late. I know! I exclaimed back to each one in turn getting increasingly impatient, dumping my bags in my room, which was on the sixth floor room one, if you were wondering. I didn't even have time to consider the furnishings before grabbing Kaito's hand and rushing; yes I was rushing again, out of the room with the appropriate books for my first period. First period lessons were always our respective majors so I would only be able to see who was in my class at our homeroom periods. Saying a quick sorry to Kaito whom I was literally dragging along as I navigated the hallways, for the classroom, so much for my promise to slow down. I rounded the corner, and smacked hard into someone, sending me and my books sprawling across the floor, rubbing my side I looked up to find an offered hand, and looked up some more to find some very startling ocean blue eyes.

Grabbing her offered hand, I mumbled, "Thanks…"

To which she replied, "I'm so sorry…" then bending down she helped me pick up my books, she was had straight dark brown hair, and she wore a light plaid jacket which was mostly black with streaks of green, that turned almost transparent as the light caught the edges of the streaks. Gathering all my books, I looked at where Kaito stood with the girl's vocaloid, which I couldn't identify so I supposed that she was a personalized one. I realised that Kaito was scowling…he never had that expression so far so I wondered what's with that expression. I decided to ask him about that later.

Turning to the girl, I asked, "Are you in the math major class?"Seeing her nodding head, I glanced at my watch and said, "Then we better hurry…"

I took the lead as we dashed the remaining distance to the class, we scrambled for seats and just settled for the two in the back and sat down just in time as our teacher walked in…or more like bounced in. He was tall, with short spiky hair, and wore a nicely checkered shirt that screamed my-wife-picked-it, and he had a pair of black rimed spectacles. He looked like he belonged to high class restaurant, owned a nice big chauffeured BMW or something like that, but then again this was a strange school so…I was still lost in my thoughts when a pitchy voice sounded through the class, "Girls…" I looked up and the source of my current discomfort to my ears were apparently from the teacher, then continuing he spat out, "…and boys…" and then switching the tone of his voice again to a more neutral tone, "…I am your Math major teacher, Mr Ng, and you'll be glad to know that I also take the elementary Math class too. So for the first thing we are going to do as a class is a summary of all the topics we will be covering for the year, I will also be passing down a compulsory formulae sheet that all of you must memorize by the end of this year." There was a collective groan as he said that, I calculated if he takes elementary Math too that meant that I see him for a total of three hours a day!

Suddenly, the classroom door slid open with a bang, yes it's sliding doors, and from where I was seated all I could see was a hand resting on the door frame, Mr Ng turned and the boy panted out, "Sorry…woke…up…late…ran…as…fast…" then taking another breath, "…as…I…could…" He then took a step into the class and slumped into the first row seat nearest to the door, his vocaloid sitting neatly beside him. He had scruffy black hair, that was terribly messy, probably cause he woke up late I deduced, he wore one of those very nice polo shirts and I spotted a earphone wire dangling loosely from his collar. Turning my attention from him to the vocaloid sitting beside him, her yellow hair was held up in a side ponytail as she wore clothes of a similar pattern to Miku however trading the mini skirt for some skinny jeans, school rules…judging from the hair I figured I was looking at Neru Akita.

The moment the poor boy took a seat, I'd say that our Math teacher had a lot to say about his tardiness and started a whole rant about how he was wasting time, in a tone that seemed impossible for anyone else but him to attain. I was thanking my lucky stars that I wasn't late for class. Meanwhile, the boy looked like he was doing his best to just keep awake, obviously not a morning person.

Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a paper ball roll across my table, looking around, I saw the girl I bumped into just now, grinning a pointing animatedly at the wad of paper. Looking a little skeptical, I opened the scrunched up paper, it read…

_Hi!_

_Amy is my name! Sorry again for bumping into you just now! Actually I was lost, so thank goodness me found you! And over here next to me is Aki my vocaloid! I see you've got Kaito…introduce him soon ok!_

_(*o*)/_

Now there's a hyper one I thought to myself, I picked up my pen to scribble back an introduction of my own, crushing it into a ball of my own, I was ready to throw it back, when Kaito's hand closed over my wrist, looking up at him, I whispered, "Kaito…wassup?"

He just looked at me and shook his head.

I dropped the paper ball on the table, remembering his uncharacteristic scowl earlier, I whispered, "This is not about Amy causing me to fall just now is it…"

He looked away, I knew it was because of just now.

"…I just don't want Nicole-sama to get hurt…and…and…" Kaito mumbled softly.

"You were worried about that…" I was touched, but I need to explain to him too, "…it was not on purpose…so don't let it bother you ok…"

He nodded his head, he still had a sulky expression.

"…so now can I throw my note back to Amy?" I questioned softly.

Looking down, he nodded his head ever so slightly again.

So, as our Math teacher carried on about all the application techniques and exam question types, Amy and I continued exchanging notes. By the end of the lesson, I found out that her favourite colour is yellow, but its specifically the not too-bright it hurts your eyes that kind of yellow, and her favourite animal is cats and her favourite season is autumn, of course. In addition, to the enthusiastic sharing from my new found friend I found out that listening to Mr Ng, for a whole two hours, made my ears ring a little, considering they were trying to keep up with his ever changing voice pitch and tones every time he addressed someone.

When the bell rang for the end of lesson, you could hear the sigh of relief.

Xxx

I leaned back in my chair, my brain was swimming with formulas that would soon have to be memorized, and theories to learn how to prove, I was thinking…30 minutes to the next lesson…which was music…so I shall just stay here for my head to stop throbbing.

I was just going to close my eyes when Amy dragged her table over to mine and ceremoniously slammed them together for good measure, my heart honestly went out to the furniture.

Planting her elbows on the table, she quipped, "Yo!" while Aki gave a little wave, with her gloved hands and bounced once as she too said, "Yo!" in a slightly airy but melodious voice.

Now that they were sitting right next to me, I could see that Aki was really cute, she had wavy pale yellow hair almost the same length as Miku and was plaited at five places: two on her front, one on the back of her head, and one on each side, which really contrasted with her dark green eyes, close to a forest green. She wore a light yellow shirt, sailor collared and where it was normally tied with a bow it was a red leaf instead, her gray and black striped sleeves were detached and starts at the elbow. Together with an orange skirt which was lined black at the bottom (obviously the skirt was long enough so that it met the school rules) and typical knee high socks and red boots completed the look.

Sitting back up I said brightly, "Hi! Was great meeting you today!"Then seeing as Kaito was not going to say anything, I nudged him, "Be nice!" I hissed.

Forcing a smile he said, "Hi…" but his eyes were more like shooting daggers.

Thankfully, Amy didn't catch the scathing look she was getting from Kaito, and continued rambling, "…Gosh! Was that Math lesson was painful or what, was it just me or are your ears hurting too?" I didn't even get a word in when she continued, "…hey! The next lesson is Music right! Let's go together!" then she looked at me expectantly.

Unprepared for the sudden opportunity of talk, I stoned for a moment before replying in a hurry, "Ahh…yea…sure!"

Nodding her head quickly, she said, "Well ok! I'm gonna get myself and Aki some stuff to eat! So see you later!" and then she skipped out of the classroom.

I was staring blankly after while, she talked really fast! I glanced around the classroom, and I realised that only Kaito, the boy who came in late (who was now sleeping with his head on the table), Neru and me where left in the classroom. I noticed Kaito hadn't said a word.

I poked him, and surprisingly he felt solid. Thinking I must have been still in a daze, I poked him again, and sure enough my finger went through him. "You still upset…"

He was still sulking. I was going to say something. When, he suddenly exclaimed, "How can I not be upset…if someone hurts Nicole-sama!"

"Hey…it's ok…but don't be upset ok…it hurts me to see you sad too…" then placing a hand on his head, being careful not to put my hand straight through his head, I mussed up his hair, "…shall we go get some ice cream later?"

At the sound ice cream, he brightened up immediately, then looking up at me again he said, "You sure Nicole-sama is ok?"

"Yes yes…shall we g-" I started, but was interrupted when someone said, "Boy, you guys are noisy…" the boy then stretched and yawned.

"Ahh…sorry about that…" I said, then I glanced at my watch and said, "…you are coming for music lesson on time right…cause well it starts in 15mins so you better get going soon…" I trailed off.

"Yes yes…" he said as he waved me off, I was just about it leave the class in search of Amy, when he said out of the blue, "I'm Zhengyi and this is Neru…"

"That's me!" Neru chirped as he said her name.

"Uhh…ok…I'm Nicole and this is Kaito…" I said in reply. Slightly awkward, I was thinking how to dispel this atmosphere, when Amy popped back in.

"Ahh! You're still here! Okey! Let's go!", pulling me by the hand out into the hallway. I saw that Aki was munching on an apple.

Zhengyi then stood up with a scrape of his chair, stretching again, he said, "I guess I'll come along too then."

Hearing that Amy, popped her head back round the corner and exclaimed, "Okey! Great! The more the merrier, right? Right?" Then grabbing his wrist with her other hand, she pulled a slightly shocked Zhengyi out of the classroom too.

I laughed at her infectious enthusiasm and the look of pure surprise on Zhengyi's face, "Yup!" I quipped back.

The three of us and our vocaloids did introductions once again us we headed towards the music studio.

Xxx

"Whoa…that is one big music hall…" I breathed in awe.

Music lessons were held every Monday and Friday. We reached about ten minutes early. The music hall…it certainly wasn't one of those standard music hall…with wooden floors and a dingy piano in one corner…oh no…this was the School of the Future…and the music hall had…I shall list for convenience sake…

The room was huge, think Carnegie Hall huge, complete with the tiers and everything. The curvature of the room was made to produce the best acoustics. (I'd say the cursive scripted sign that proclaimed this was a music studio was a sorely misguided one.)

Instead of a standard upright piano in a gloomy corner it was a grand piano, and it wasn't black…nope…it was transparent.

The already magnificent piano stood in the middle of the room on a raised circular stage…

The seats were arranged in a circular manner and the seats were posh…really posh…it was the type of seats that when you sat down you didn't want to get back up again.

And when you looked up the ceiling was moving clouds and the light in the room felt like natural sunlight.

I took a seat in the first row, as Kaito, Zhengyi, Neru, Amy and Aki followed suit.

"This is awesome!" Amy started.

Aki clapped her hands and the structure of the hall carried the sound through the hall, "This is so awesome!" Aki squealed, and began clapping more as her claps filled the space of the hall, each clap as clear as the next.

I looked from Aki to Zhengyi and saw that he figured out the reclining system of the chair, he had promptly plugged in his earphones drowning out any sound and was currently taking a nap. Neru was trying her best to wake him up but to no avail, then she pouted, "Baka! Wake up!" She was trying to tug his hair out now, somehow I was experiencing a sense of de ja vu like I have seen this scene somewhere…

Anyhow, I thought I'd better save my new found friend from loosing all his hair so asked, "Does he always want to sleep?"

Looking up, she stuck her tongue out at his sleeping figure and said, "Nope…he just woke up late today…didn't get enough sleep…so he's being an absolute grouch now…"

Laughing I said, "I see…"

To which she just nodded, causing her ponytail to bob up and down, and went back to what she was doing. I sighed…can't be helped I guess…I'll just pray that he has hair after this I guess. I was looking around watching the hall fill up, I was occasionally commenting something to Kaito when he suddenly exclaimed, "Shana!" Referring to a character out of an anime he and I watched recently.

I whipped my head about, "Where?" and to my surprise Amy and Aki also reacted to the statement. All otakus at heart.

Shaking his head and pointing a finger, Kaito said, "No…I mean she looks like Shana-tan now…"

Three pairs of eyes followed the pointing finger which was in the direction of Neru, count three seconds…one…two…three! And all of us burst into laughter as Neru and Zhengyi, who just woke up stared blankly.

Amy and I were just going to say something, to explain to the poor confused souls what in the world just happened, when the music hall's lights dimmed, just enough so that our vocaloids could still be seen. I looked up and saw that the ceiling of clouds had turned into nighttime constellations and the glow of the 'stars' was the only thing illuminating the hall.

Then a voice that seemed to come from the piano, filled the hall, "Welcome, welcome to another year at-…" it was cut off by a student somewhere to my left, that sounded strangely like Barzini, who said, "What is this… some cheap rip off?" To which the voice snapped, "Well…ok…then…fine!...I'll just stick with the boring stuff…I am your music teacher for this year and you may call me SOUL, so moving on…at the School of the Future we take music lessons seriously and if you don't ace this subject…by ace we mean distinctions…there are serious consequences… to put it plainly you fail…you fail the whole school year." Pausing to let this sink in as a murmur of opinions floated across the room, the voice clearly a he now, carried on, "Music grades will be assessed in groups…namely groups of eleven…and the projects will be in themes and to be presented in a form of a skit, which will set the background story andddd," dragging out the 'd' for emphasis, "… will incorporate a song, of course! We are a school of music you know!... All of which will be created by you and presented by selected vocaloids among the members in the groups. Here at School of the Future…we pretty much give you a free rein to express your creativity and talent." When this was said, numerous spot lights appeared at where our vocaloids were sitting, and most of the vocaloids basked in the attention, well at least Kaito was enjoying himself, waving about his aisu, which he managed to get cause he slipped out awhile to get some from his huge supply that yours truly bought for him. In the gloom I spotted Miku off to the left twirling about and with Barzini sitting next to her. The spotlights lingered for a moment longer before switching off, after which the voice continued, "Therefore! The theme of the first project will be 'Forbidden Love'…isn't that exciting! And for an added twist! It will be a duet! Please form your respective groups by the end of this lesson and submit the names into the piano chair on a piece of paper, projects will be presented in precisely one week…then I await your wonderful creations! Good luck! Till next time!" and the voice faded out as the lights in the music hall flickered back on.

Xxx

I leaned my head back in my chair and stuck my legs out. Kaito asked, "So…who are we going to join Nicole?"

"Mmm…" I honestly wondered too, then Amy chirped, "Hey let's make a group! You know! The three of us! You, you and me!" she pointed to me, Zhengyi and herself in turn, "now we just need to find eight more people!"

"Ok," I said in consent while Zhengyi just gave a grunt and said, "Huhh…"

Then I heard someone call my name, I turned and saw Barzini with Miku charging straight for Kaito and the other vocaloids.

"Hi!...So…got a group yet?"I questioned Barzini.

"Ahh…well…me and my friends kinda have half a group…" he replied.

Upon hearing that, Amy said in rapid fire succession, "Hey! Then why don't both of our groups join up! How many people do you have? My name's Amy and this is Aki by the way!" pointing to her vocaloid who was happily talking to Miku. I think Barzini was a little caught off guard so he just nodded his head and said, "Six in my groups so far."

"Great!" Amy said gleefully, "now we only need two more people!" she went off to talk to Zhengyi and tell him about the latest developments in our group making.

Looking at the other five that Barzini brought with him, I spotted, red hair, as he turned around I recognized him as Allen! There was also a girl that looked very familiar but I just couldn't put my finger on it. I was about to call out to Allen…

When I heard someone else call my name, turning I saw Yukina together with Piko of course and a brown haired boy trailing behind her, holding his PSP and feverishly pressing the buttons, he was wearing a casual shirt and berms and I noticed that on his left wrist was a yellow wristband, walking coolly beside him was a pink haired vocaloid whom I recognized as Luka.

I raised my hand in greeting, "Yo! Found your group yet?"

Yukina replied glancing at the boy behind her with Luka, "Well…we were kind of wondering if we could join yours…if you have space…I mean…"

"Yea…sure!...Just nice in fact!" I waved my hands and finally got the attention of Amy who was still shooting Zhengyi with comments about our newest group members, literally.

Xxx

Ten minutes later… after submitting the paper with our names, with a great deal of confusion might I add as no one knew if we were supposed to write only our names or both our names and our vocaloids, we finally settled on both. We were sitting in a circle of eleven with our vocaloids standing behind us, and that made a total of 22 in a group! Talk about a lot of people! All around the hall other groups seemed to be also doing the same thing.

"So it's settled then! How about a round of introductions!" Amy exclaimed with her hands on her hips, seeing that no one was exactly ready for this she raised her hand and said, "I'll start first! I'm Amy and that's Aki!"

Making a peace sign, Aki said cheerfully, "Aki desu~!"

Then as if like it was an afterthought, Amy said, "I major Math!" Then, pointing with two fingers to Zhengyi, "Your turn!"

"Uh…Name's Zhengyi," then pointing with a thumb behind him, he said, "that's Neru."

"That's me!" the yellow haired vocaloid said.

"Same major as Amy…" he mumbled, following the format Amy started.

Realizing it was my turn, I raised my hand in a wave and said, "I'm Nicole and that's Kaito, who is still enjoying his ice cream and probably won't respond." True enough all he said in a dreamy voice was, "Aisu." So I continued and said, "Major is Math!"

"I'm Yukina…major in Literature and this is Piko…" she said softly.

"Yo…" Piko said in reply, raising his hand.

Next to Yukina was the boy that came along with her, Yukina gently nudged him, and he looked up from his PSP, "Oh!…I'm Mai and this is Luka…" as he said that Luka calmly just stared at all of us. "…and I major Lit same as Yukina…" then he went back to playing his game. Obviously he could multi task, as he clearly knew what was going on.

Next was Barzini, but before he could even say a word Miku chipped in and pointed to him and said, "This is Barzini! And me is Miku!" then she twirled around, and proclaimed, "Aaandd he is a gHeek! As Nicole like to call him…cause he loves History!"

Barzini just smiled like he knew this was going to happen, and just nodded sheepishly.

Beside Barzini was a girl who was wearing orange goggles on her head?

"Hello! I am Hannah, and that's Meiko…Major History too!" it looked like Meiko was having a hangover of some sort still so she didn't say anything much.

Next to Hannah was the girl that I found familiar, she looked straight in front of her and said, "Karina…Major History…" then looking back at her vocaloid she said, "…and that's Len!"

Len was standing back-to-back with his sister Rin and he did a little bow as he was introduced. I was thinking that Karina was very familiar when I couldn't take the feeling that the answer is just there but is eluding me, so I threw the question, "Have I known you before?"

Turning her attention to me, Karina cocked her head to one side and said, "I think so…I was thinking you looked really familiar too…I think it was in elementary one…"

Elementary one…mhmm…then I remembered! I clapped my hands and said, "Yes I remember! Karina! From Class 1-2!" Then I laughed, "Gosh! Then I transferred out and we lost contact! Glad we met again!"

"I remember too! Best Buds remember!" Karina exclaimed, "Catch up session later ok! Must?"

Everyone just stared a little at the exchanged, which was followed by an awkward silence, so, Rin quipped and shattered the quietness, "Don't ignore me! It was my turn! I'm Rin! Len's sis! As if you didn't already know that! Anyway…" sticking her hands out in a flourish she said, "…this is Amoz!"

"Hey! That was my line!" Amoz exclaimed, glaring a little at his vocaloid, then addressing all of us, "MY name is Amoz…THAT is Rin and I major History…"

Standing next to Amoz was a girl with sliver bangs, taking a look behind her I saw a very cat-like vocaloid. She started, "My name is Michelle! I major History too! And SeeU is my vocaloid!" SeeU pawed the air a little at the mention of her name and purred a, "Nyan~!"

We were coming a full circle with only one more person to go, and that was Allen. Looking down he said, "Uhh…Allen…and…that's Haku…History major…" Haku gave a shy bow as her name was mentioned.

As soon as that was done Amy's voice sounded out, "Great so I already booked the music rooms for our use!" I was seriously wondering when she got all of that done.

Then Barzini said, "Alright troops, then let's head out!"

"Yes! Let's head out!" Miku joined, while saluting Barzini.

The rest of us just stared.

"Don't you think we should maybe think about our general storyline for the skit first…" Mai suggested.

Most of us nodded in consent.

Sitting back down, Barzini said, "Ok then…how about a background setting?"

Then almost simultaneously … the answers rang out from the vocaloids. Hopefully you could guess who said what.

"Aisu paradise!"

"Sake store!"

"Samurai period! Katanas!"

"Apple land!"

"LEEK WORLD!"

"ORANGE WORLD!"

"Banana! It has to be bananas!"

"River full of tuna…"

"Nyan! River full of salmon!"

"…Ah…Marshmallows?"

"Second the Marshmallows…"

As the clamor died down, I said, "Err…how about a castle?"

Karina replied, "YES, western medieval types right? You thinking what I'm thinking right?"

I nodded my head quickly and squealed, "Uhhuh! The forbidden romance between prince and maid! Kyahh!"

"I know right! Epic!" Karina squealed in reply.

Then Amy added, "And there can be flowers with hidden meaning!"

Karina and I nodded, "Uhhuh…Uhhuh!"

Hannah then commented, "And I suppose the king is going to be against all this and oh tragedy…"

Karina, Amy and I chorused in agreement.

Yukina then whispered, "But…the king issues and ultimatum…and the prince is forced to choose!"

"…And the prince and the maid…childhood friends?" Michelle questioned.

"Sounds good," Karina said.

"Yup, tragic and forbidden! Great!" I exclaimed.

The six of us then turned to the five guys in the group, and I said, "So any ideas?"

Amoz then said loudly, "For crying out loud! Didn't you girls just figure everything out?"

Zhengyi then leaned back in the chair closed his eyes and said, "Yep, they did…"

"Girls are better at this romance thing anyway…" Mai commented.

Allen just nodded his head in agreement.

"O~k~!...That was fast! So now that the story line is more or less settled…who's going to write the script?" Barzini asked.

Zhengyi opened one eye and said, "How about you write it?"

"Ehh~! You sure?" Barzini said.

"Well," Amy chirped, "easy way to solve this…all in favor of Barzini over here to write the script, raise your hand!"

All of us raise our hands in consent.

"Great then so you can write the script!" Amy said brightly to Barzini.

Barzini then muttered, "Right…so that would be western medieval castle…prince and maid…childhood friends…king disapproves…issues ultimatum…" then looking up, he said, "sure I can't add in a war scene? I promise it will be epic!"

Hannah replied, "Dude! It's a tragic romance…"

I said, "Why don't you just write it first then we'll take a look and see if it's ok…"

"Alrightly then…if everyone agrees then I'll be glad to write it…," Barzini said agreeing, then rubbing his hands together, he said, "now for the most important part…whose vocaloid is going to play the roles?"

At that question he was mostly met with silence, except Miku exclaimed, raising her hand, "I wanna play! Can I! Can I?"

Hearing Miku, Rin joined in, "But I wanna be in it too!" Then she looked at Amoz, "I should be in it right?" Tugging Len's sleeve, she then proclaimed, "And Len can be the oujisama (prince)!"

"Ehh!" Len cried out, as he was suddenly pushed in the lime light.

Miku huffed and walked over to Kaito, "Fine! If Len's going to be your prince, then Kaito's going to be mine!"

"Wha-!" Kaito shouted in surprise before being interrupted by Meiko, who said, "N~No! Kaito will be mine!" before hooking an arm around him. She's definitely still not sober I swear.

Kaito looked to me in a look of pure desperation. "Save me…" he mouthed.

"Uhh…"I started, ready to say something for my poor vocaloid, when SeeU jumped up and with one paw in the air she said, "I will be the maid! And Michelle-sama can be the prince! Nyan!"

"No!" Miku, Rin and Meiko shouted at the same time.

Then Luka, who didn't really have a desire to play damsel in distress, coolly said, "The prince has to be a male…"

"Then me and Zhengyi can play the part!" Neru said excitedly, turning to Zhengyi she pulled out her katana and said sweetly, "Right?"

Cornered, Zhengyi put both his hands up in poor defense and said hurriedly, "Uhh…but it's vocaloids who have to present our work…so…"

"So…Neru…it means that Zhengyi can't play the main roles in the presentation…" Yukina finished for him.

Piko looked grateful that one came after him so far and Haku hadn't said a word, she was just hugging her knees.

Taking a look at her sitting curled up in the chair, I tapped Karina on the shoulder, then I whispered, "How about Haku?" Karina looked over my shoulder and nodded in agreement. "Perfect!" she whispered back.

Saying loudly, "How about Haku, everyone?" Everyone turned to look at the white haired vocaloid.

Caught off guard by the attention, she whimpered.

Allen said, "Uh…guys…I think you're freaking her out…"

"But she does fit the part doesn't she…" Mai said.

Barzini looked up from where he was drafting the script, "I think so too…" then looking at Haku, "So how about it? You'll do great!"

"Eh…are you sure…what if I mess up…" Haku said softly.

"Nah…we'll all help you!" I said to her.

Haku turned to Allen and after a few moments of discussion. Haku nodded her head in agreement.

"So…" I looked to Barzini to ask the next burning question, when I realised that he was being hammered by Miku cause she didn't get the part. Meiko had already passed out and it looked like Rin wasn't too bothered because Miku didn't get the part either. While Neru and SeeU were just talking in the corner, and Luka was opening a can of tuna. The boys…well you could see it was a sigh of relief that was over.

"So…" I said a little louder, "…we need to decide the role of the prince…"

All heads turned to the three male vocaloid in our group.

"Crap…" Kaito said. Well this was something I couldn't help him with.

Len was trying to look anywhere else but at everyone else.

Piko just took a small step back.

Hannah turned to Barzini, "So…which one suits the role best?"

Looking down at the half drafted script, Barzini said, "Well…I was thinking Piko…"

Cutting in Amy said, "Well, then, let's a take vote? All in favour of Piko raise your hand!"

All of us agreed, even Piko himself, which was surprising.

Yukina asked Piko, "You wanted the role?"

"Well…since it was Haku…I don't mind…she likes marshmallows too…"Piko replied.

"That was settled quickly!" Zhengyi commented.

"Yup!" I said. Then addressing everyone, "I think we should split up the jobs. So, since Barzini is doing the script and considering he is in the AV club, he shall lead the team handling the props, music, lighting and etc. As for the song lyrics and dance…"

"You can do that part! And I can help!" Karina said in response.

"Ehh! But…" I started.

Then Amy said, "Well…we-"

"We can always take a vote…All in favor of Nicole and Karina doing the song and dance raise your hand…" Amoz continued word for word along with Amy.

Once again there were no disagreements, so it was decided that Karina and I were going to do the song and dance.

"Lesson is going to be over in…30minutes…" Mai said as he paused his game to inform us.

"Uh ok…then let's settle who's going to do what then," I said hurriedly.

"Well, I'm obviously coming with you!" Karina nodded and said.

"Ok…I think we need Yukina and Allen to join us if we are doing the dance…" I added.

Yukina and Allen both nodded.

"Anyone does dance?" I asked.

A hand shot up, "Me! Me!" Amy said. "Aki good at dancing too!" Amy's vocaloid added.

"I suppose it could help there too…" Hannah volunteered.

"Great! That's…four…five…six! Six people!" I exclaimed. "Should be enough…"

"So then the rest are my soldiers!" Barzini said, doing some sort of strange military pose.

Ignoring him, I turned to Amy and questioned, "Right…so Amy, what time is the music room booked at?"

She in turned talked to Aki for a while, then replied, "Aki says she booked it at 6pm to 8pm, music room one. So that it doesn't clash with any activities of course."

Nodding my head, I turned to Barzini, "So you gonna use the room, or will I use it instead?"

"Uh…I think you can use it…" Barzini decided.

"Ok then," I said to my team, "we'll meet at 6pm at music room one."

"For my team, we'll just meet briefly after school and work things out from there…" Barzini said.

"Then I think we can go now, lesson ends in five minutes anyway." I said, getting up from my seat.

"Wait…there's something we must settle first…and I need everyone as witness…" Barzini said, pulling my arm and making me sit back down.

"Ok…"I mumbled, I was wondering what was happening.

Then he turned to Michelle and Karina who were sitting together, sticking his hand out he said, "Pay up…"

"What?" they both exclaimed.

"The bet! Me, Allen and Hannah clearly won!" he replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Mind telling us what's going on…"Mai said, eyeing Barzini.

"Well…the five of us, Allen, Michelle, Karina, Hannah and me…was betting if the music teacher was nuts or not... and he clearly isn't so now, those two," Barzini pointed with two fingers, "have to pay up…"

"You have to consider that he did try to start with a Harry Potter opening you know…" Karina argued.

"Yes, but that would be classified as trying and failing to be interesting…seeing as how he got shot down by someone…" Hannah defended.

"Well then!" Amy began, "Let's…"

"Take a vote!" Everyone chorused along.

"Ehh! How come you all know what I was going to say!" Amy pouted.

Everyone just laughed.

After the vote, it was decided that the music teacher wasn't batty, so, reluctantly parting with their money, both girls handed their money over.

As Barzini was counting his earnings, "Nice! Now I have more cash, to buy…"

"To buy Miku more leek cola of course! Right, Barzini?" Miku said as she popped out from behind him.

Before he had a chance to answer, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson.

Xxx

The rest of the day ran without a hitch, yes true there were some batty teachers and some saner ones, I didn't have CCA today, so by the time I managed to get back of my room was about 5:30pm. I had already eaten dinner.

Almost tripping over my luggage that was still hastily thrown in a pile near the door, since this morning. I took in my room for the first time. It was pastel blue, somehow I suspected that Kaito picked the colour without telling me. The furnishings were simple, a bed, a bed-side table a desk in one corner, two windows with a nice facing, a wardrobe.

"Come on! See my room!" Kaito said happily has he pulled my hand to the adjoining room.

As I found out his room was blue too…what else do you expect right…and his bed, was round and kinda reminded me of an ice cream tub, then it hit me, it was supposed to be that way, taking a closer look I realised that the pillows were modeled after chocolate chips, and the headboard was the lid of the so-called ice cream tub. So he did sleep in an ice cream tub! And you'd think that all those photos on Google was for fun…

"You like it?" Kaito looked up to me expectantly and said.

Laughing I said, "I love it!"

Next to the bed I spotted a very nice computer. Pointing to it I said, "Yours?"

"Yuppie! You can use it too though…" he told me.

"Cool!" Then walking over to the fridge I opened it…inside was already mysteriously stocked with all the necessary human things, "so where's all the ice cream?" I questioned.

"Here~!" Kaito said in a sing song voice, as he scanned his hand over something and the great stock of ice cream appeared, they looked like they were on the verge of toppling out. Then he stuck his hand in and haphazardly pulled a tub of Häagen-Dazs ice cream out. "Whoa~!" I cried out, as the whole pile of ice cream started falling out of the fridge, sure it was virtual, but I couldn't help but put up my hands in front of me. I laughed as I was almost 'buried' in the sheer amount of ice cream I didn't know I bought, surprised in the first place that the fridge could fit so many tubs in the first place.

"Nicole-sama! Gomen! (Sorry!)" Kaito said and looked like he was about to cry.

"Hey…it's ok…we just need to be more careful next time right?" I said, my laugher dying down as I took in his upset expression.

He nodded silently, and began stacking the ice cream back into the fridge, when that was done, I pushed him his ice cream, "Go on eat…"

Taking a bite of his favourite vanilla ice cream, he expression melted into one of bliss, well I guess, with ice cream it solves everything.

"Aisu~!" he dreamily exclaimed. Well I suppose a not so coherent but happy Kaito is better than a sad one.

While he was enjoying his third tub of ice cream for the day, I had already finished unpacking and glancing at the clock, I called out to Kaito while grabbing my laptop, and said, "Time to go!"

Xxx

It was a little before 6pm as I entered the music room and found that Karina was already there with Len. The music room, was as expected more than just a music room, in a corner stood a baby grand, half the room was carpeted and the other half was wooden with that side of the wall covered in mirrors so that it could be a dance studio too. The carpeted side of the room was strewn with pillows and came with a very nice comfy looking circular couch with a table in the center.

"Hi~!" she waved, "now we have some time to catch up!"

"Hehh…so Karina and Nicole were good friends?" Len asked as he jumped down from the piano he was sitting on.

"We are still good friends!" Karina answered then turning to me she said, "so…spill the juicy gossips girl!"

Grinning, Karina was just the same as I remembered her, "Nothing much happened…life was pretty boring till I met Kaito of course…" I trailed off.

"Ehh! Well I've got lots to share…" Karina started, then she started by recounting the past classmates and teachers and what they were all doing now. While I was just nodding every now and then with Kaito asking lot's of questions.

Three knocks rang out halfway when Karina was enthusiastically telling me about the English teacher who got married to the very snooty Science teacher.

"Come in!" I called out.

Amy bounced in with Aki following suit waving at the same time, Yukina and Allen walked in together and Haku and Piko walked in behind them, sharing a bowl of chocolate dipped marshmallows, and just when the door was sliding close a hand gripped the door and slammed it back, giving all of us a shock, "I'm here…" Hannah announced and Meiko stumbled in behind her.

Then my phoned beeped, a message from Barzini! Opening the message it read.

_The eagle has landed. The eagle has landed. The script is sitting in your inbox._

"Uhh…ok…looks like Barzini is done with the script." I said, snapping out of it first.

"But, anyway, firsts thing first we need to come up with some lyrics for the song! Suggestions anyone?" I said, as I opened my laptop and turned it on.

"Uhh…forbidden love…well…if you think anime…maybe something along the lines of 'you mean everything in the world to me'?" Karina suggested.

"Oooo….! Anime!" Amy exclaimed, "then how about 'I will follow you to the end of forever'?"

Nodding, I said "Sounds good…lemme type that down…" Then true enough, my mail symbol flashed on my computer screen. Opening the attachment. I read through the script. It was really well done.

"Hey…guys…come around here…" All of us huddled around the screen, nodding approval at the script Hannah pointed out, "the song will be perfect right after Act 4. It will be the perfect climax for Act 5."

"Yes, that's what I thought so too." Amy said.

"So…" turning to Yukina and Allen, "…what do you think?"

They both in turn, turned to their vocaloids.

Piko started, "Uhh…it's ok I guess…though being regal…I'm going to have to read up about it…especially about that era and everything…"

"Ehh! Piko so hard working! Book lover?" Len commented, as he tilted his head in a questioning glance.

"Well…you could say that I suppose…" Piko trailed off, exchanging a knowing glance with Yukina.

Then Haku stammered, "I…I am…just not really sure about the…um…you know…the…scene…where we have…to…to…k…kiss…" by the end of the sentence she was blushing like mad.

"Ehh~…" Meiko mumbled, "…j…just close your eyes and k…kiss!" she was slurring at the end and clapped her hands on the kiss for greater effect.

Haku just hid her face in her arms. Allen went over to his vocaloid and started talking to her.

"Uh…ok…" trying to get the people's attention again, "why don't we continue working on the lyrics first?"

"Yuppie! Okey!" Amy said brightly.

"Yes…so we were here…" I pointed to the two lines that I typed out.

As the evening progressed, everyone contributed enough lines for what seemed to be a whole song. Only the arrangement of the song was left.

"How about…'A feeble flame is lit at the edge of my heart'…as the first line?" Kaito suggested.

Highlighting the line I pulled it up to the top.

"Subtle mysterious starting…good…"Karina commented. Kaito beamed in the praise.

Working our way down, we came up with a song structure something like, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus.

Tapping a finger on her lips, Yukina said, "But if feels like something…"

"Is still missing…" Allen added, he was still sitting with Haku while listening to our discussion.

"How…how…about…another ending chorus for emphasis…but with different lyrics from the rest…like…like a conclusion to the story…" Haku said softly, that was probably the longest sentence I've heard her said yet.

"Okey! Yes…I think so too!" Aki agreed.

"'I'm drawn to you like a magnet'…" Piko muttered.

"Eh~! That sounds nice…um…'that even if we separate'…um…" Len started but was unable to continue.

"'That even if we separate, we will meet by fate again'…" Karina finished for her vocaloid, then she sighed, "that line was so sweet…"

"And…um…'If we touched…it's ok to not look back'?" Allen tried.

Nodding and typing the lines, I said, "Well we need one last line, so, how about we come a full circle with a reply, 'It's fine, for you are the most important to me.' Is that ok, Haku?" I was determined to get her to talk.

Looking from Allen to me, she nodded and said, "Yes…I think it perfect now…"

"WHAT~?" Meiko exclaimed from across the room, then she stood up shakily and pointed an accusing finger, "y…you all finished the…the song without me?"

"Umm…that's probably cause you were so wasted you weren't exactly listening…" I commented.

There was no reply as she passed out again, and there I was wondering where she even got her hands on more sake within the school compound.

"O~k~…" scrolling up to the top of the document, I read the lyrics out loud for a final check that everything made sense.

"Sounds really very nice…but we need a title…" Karina said.

"How about we just name the song, 'Following you to the ends of forever'…a line from the song always works best right?" Amy suggested.

"Ehh…no fun... n-name it magnet…after what that chibi said…" Meiko suddenly injected, catching us all by surprise. Well, except for Piko who indignantly said, "Who are you calling chibi!" and stormed off to sit with Yukina.

"Magnet," I repeated the word a couple of times, rolling it about seeing if it fit.

"I think…I think it's not bad…" Allen put in. Haku nodded along with it.

"Second that." Karina said.

Throwing up her hands, Hannah agreed.

"Yukina? Amy?" I turned to both of them.

"Yup, good…" Yukina agreed.

"Well…I suppose it is mysterious and it is a word in the song…so yes." Amy said.

"Great! So I shall send this off to Barzini so that he can settle the tune!" I said happily, typing the title of the song was the subject of the email.

"Nicole, I think something still has to be settled…" Kaito said.

"Hmm…" I mumbled, turning to my vocaloid.

"We need to know what language we are singing it in…"

"Good point!" Len said.

"How about Japanese…" Hannah offered.

"But then we need to get translations…" Yukina trailed off.

"Nicole-sama, can do it…" Kaito said.

"You learned Japanese and you didn't tell me? That's so cool!" Karina squealed.

In the face of all this I just nodded sheepishly, I didn't know whether to thank Kaito for this or not.

"So it's settled! Japanese then!" Amy quipped.

Quickly translating what we had on my computer. I once again read out the translated version to check if the fluidity of the lyrics made sense. Then I sent the English and Japanese lyrics off to Barzini. Before texting him a message.

_The lyrics are done! You are such a gHeek! *Sticks! Out! Tongue!*_

"Okey! Done!" I announced smiling to myself, "Let's take a break before deciding on the dance type…"

Hannah leaned back and stretched. Meiko was lazily downing more sake. Yukina was sitting at the edge of the couch still trying to convince Piko that Meiko didn't really mean what she said. Allen was softly talking to Haku in on the other end of the couch. Getting up from the couch I walked over to the dance floor and sat down cross legged on the wooden floor and stretched, I was feeling claustrophobic sitting in the middle, so having all this free space was a luxury to me.

"Nicole-sama, ok?" Kaito cocked his head to one side and asked.

"Yup…much better then just now…" I replied, then I lay down on the floor, staring up at the ceiling.

"You still like doing this huh?" said Karina as she lay down next to me, Len playing with her bangs. She puffed up some air at him as he did that.

"Is this fun?" Amy bounded over that short distance and followed suit, putting her hands behind her head. Aki did the same.

"Yup…I helps me relax," I answered then I turned my head to the side, addressing Karina, "Any new anime?"

Karina giggled and replied, "I still remember how you'd always ask me that…"

"Well…" she continued.

"Well…!" Amy said, "there's... Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing…" then she started rattling off a barrage of anime titles that even I couldn't keep up with.

The three of us chatted a little more before Hannah said, "We should get on with the dance selection now…"

"Ok…" I sat up reluctantly.

"Ballroom!" Aki was the first to suggest even before anyone posed the question.

Karina started, "Yea…that will probably be the best…but…maybe some sort of fusion?"

"How about we let Piko and Haku choose, then at the first rehearsal we confirm the choreography?" Yukina suggested.

I heard Piko mumbling, "Have to go read up on dance types in the medieval ages…"

That is one hard working guy I thought. "Sounds good to me!" I said, then glancing at my watch well its almost 8pm…time for us to go I think…"

I saw Aki's eyes go blank for a while then Amy turned to us a said, "I'm booking the music hall at 6pm tomorrow! That's ok right?"

This girl was fast, I thought to myself, we all just nodded.

"Well! That's good! So see you all tomorrow then!"

Xxx

The moment I got back to my room I just washed up and flopped on my bed.

"That was some brain drain day…."I commented to Kaito.

There was no reply as I saw he was already curled in his ice cream tub, probably dreaming of more ice cream.

Xxx

My watched beeped 6pm, I was enjoying the 'night' sky in the hall on one of the reclining chairs when Miku suddenly appeared in front of me and I got a shock of my life as she stuck her face right in front of mine.

"Boo!" she said in her high tones of hers.

"Sorry about that…" Barzini said popping out behind her.

I just waved him off, soon the rest of the team filed in and took the front row seats. Let's see…Haku and Piko were sharing marshmallows again…Amy and Karina were hunched over a computer screen, judging from their faces, probably watching anime, Len was munching on banana flavoured chips, Mai and Luka were calmly observing the rest, Yukina was talking to Hannah, Meiko well you don't need me to tell you right. As for Aki…let's just say she wasn't doing the wisest thing by poking at Meiko in her… state. Michelle was looking at her scores and SeeU was humming a tune, while Zhengyi was tapping out some rhythms with his feet and Neru was sharpening her katana? I realised that Amoz was missing.

"What happened to Amoz?"I said to Barzini, then feigning a shocked expression, "did you kill him for insubordination or something?"

Out of no where a leek came flying towards me, "Barzini wouldn't do something like that!" Miku said in an outcry. I ducked instinctively, but apparently I didn't have to cause Kaito caught the leek halfway before it hit me.

"Don't try to hurt Nicole-sama!" Kaito told Miku, clearly upset, I was surprised that he didn't break the leek or something like that, he just calmly handed it back to her.

"Alright, people! Let's start!" I shouted, my voice travelling though the hall, amplified.

The stage had been rearranged already with the piano at the left and the drums on the right.

Michelle took her place behind the piano and Zhengyi sat at the drums. Piko and Haku stood awkwardly on the stage, no mikes were needed as the hall had naturally the best acoustics and amplified anything done on the stage.

"Ok…so how about a run through…so that Piko and Haku can get a feel of the tune." I suggested.

"Yes…uh…ok" Barzini's voice boomed though the hall, he was in a sound systems room, some where in the back of the hall, "ready one…two…three…"

The sound of rushing waves filled the hall, then a simple piano tune repeated three times, then the drums added weight to the beat which felt like it was launching the song off, at about 30 seconds in Michelle signalled to Haku to sing, she had already committed the lyrics to memory and had no trouble placing the words, I mean they were vocaloids, born to sing! At about 50 seconds into the song Piko joined in a duet, well not really cause they were singing in the exact same notes.

"Stop! Stop!" I said putting my hand up, "someone needs to harmonise," I told Haku and Piko.

"Yup!" Karina said, then she hummed the harmony for that part while I hummed the melody.

When we were done, there was a smattering of applause, then Karina said, "Ok so how about you guys try again? With Piko taking the harmony."

It was lovely the second time they attempted it, pure confidence radiated from both of them as they delivered the song, sure the entry just after the second verse was a little off, but they just needed more practice.

"That…was nice…I couldn't have done it better myself…"Luka commented, flipping her hair behind her shoulder, I wondered if she regretted not trying for the chance to sing.

Looking up from his game, Mai said, "That was fast…are we moving on to the dance now?" Always the practical one, I thought to myself.

"Yes…ok…" turning to Piko and Haku I asked, "You two figured out a dance yet?"

Piko shifted uncomfortably, "Well…we did think of a routine…" he glanced at Haku and seeing that he wasn't going to get any help from her, he continued, "…but it's not complete yet…"

"How about you just show us what you have then we'll all help!" Aki said in a cheery voice.

Barzini started the music, and both Piko and Haku started a very nice routine, the intro was a simple reach and pull away, you could see that they were already acting the part, then they danced in sync, when Haku started singing with one hand stretched out and the other place over her heart with Piko gazing at her from across the stage, you could see that they were a perfect match. When Piko joined the singing, they did a light touch once, before dancing in sync again, their hands moving with great fluidity. By the time they hit the chorus, they were one in front of the other as they slid apart and raise their arms in another move, perfect mirror images. Then at the bridge both of them stopped, and Haku began to realise that she was on stage, and her face began to redden, while Piko just rubbed his neck and looked away.

Everyone applauded their wonderful chorography, "That…was really nice so far…" I praised, "now…how about…"

I was promptly cut off by Amy who said, "Solo! Haku should do a solo!"

Then Hannah pointed with one finger, "and right after that, when Haku sings the bridge, she will sink down to the floor and Piko will do his solo…"

"Then the chorus repeats…twice if I remember…" Zhengyi said as he twirled the drum sticks about his finger.

"Well we can introduce some variations in the last two choruses…" Michelle commented and gave some directions for that part. Just before they got to the last part, I said, "And at the last line, Piko should do this…" then in demonstration, I walked up to Haku and gently cupped her cheek with one hand while singing the last line, watching Haku blush, then I continued, "…and right when the song ends…will be the kiss…"

"Then let's take it from the top!" Miku's voice sounded out though the speaker systems.

By the time we ended practice, it was perfection, and everyone was wiped.

"Well, that's a wrap people." Turning to Amy I questioned, "And the next practice is?"

"Tomorrow… same time same place…!" Aki answered.

"Ok! So tomorrow same time same place!" I repeated to everyone.

"Will the props be done by tomorrow?" I turned to Barzini and asked.

"Yup…all ready in fact…Amoz was missing because he was handling that…"

"Okey! Tomorrow we will run through the script and the song!" I clapped my hands and said, this was so fantastic! It was hard not to be excited.

Xxx

"Kaito…wake up…" I nudged my vocaloid, this was a nice change, for he was always the one waking me up.

"Mhmm…" he sat up sleepy and rubbed his eyes, hugging his chocolate chip cookie…pillow.

"I chose mochi for breakfast I hope it's ok…" I told Kaito as I pushed him into the bathroom.

When he came out, well I mean wet hair and guys, think for yourself, I shook my head and pointed out breakfast on the table, sitting down with him, we both clapped our hands together and said, "Itadakimasu!" Picking up my chopsticks I was diving for the peach flavoured one, when Kaito said with his chopsticks in his mouth, "Mochi~! Nice!"

"Better than ice cream?" I teased.

"NO~!" he shouted, then he stormed over to the fridge and carefully took out a blue sea salt ice cream stick.

"So you not going to finish your mochi…" I said with mock sadness.

"Eh~! Nicole-sama! Don't sad! I will eat both!" then he proceeded to eat both his treats with great enthusiasm.

I laughed and said, "It's ok…don't eat yourself sick…"

Seeing that he just got teased, he pouted and said, "…pu…"

Checking the time, I said, "Well…finish up…lesson is going to start soon…"

As usual, I managed to survive my major with my head ringing with Mr Ng's high pitches, surprisingly despite his odd communication methods, he was actually a very good Math teacher. He taught was great passion and showed as clearly how the topic linked. The rest of the day passed in a blur. No CCA again today as officially my CCA only started tomorrow on Thursday, I joined choir in the end with Karina and was persuading Yukina to come along…but oh well…we'll see tomorrow who turns up for orientation.

Xxx

I reached the music hall half an hour ahead of the appointed meeting time, we were not supposed to be here ah…but whatever. I switch off the 'lights' and sat staring at the stars as the constellations swirled in their galaxies above me with Kaito next to me. I was pointing out softly to Kaito the Big dipper and Orion, while he admired the complex structures.

"Nicole-sama, likes stars…" he said, his hand reaching out to one, trying to grab it, then he did it again.

"What are you doing?..."I questioned softly.

"If I try hard enough…I might be able to catch one for Nicole-sama one day…"Kaito answered in reply.

I was going to say something back when some men talking in Japanese entered.

Pulling Kaito down from the chair, we crouched behind the chair, waiting to see if we were going to be spotted and get into trouble. The voices got closer till they were right next to us, I could hear what they were saying…

"This is a work of art…" Man number one said.

"Yes…everything is perfectly placed…all facilities can be used by the vocaloids and their owners…" Man number two said.

"And this hall…is powered by SOUL…" Man number three said.

"SOUL?" Man number one questioned.

"Yes…SOUL stands for Songs Original Universal Language…he is the worlds best artificial intelligence for music…besides the vocaloids of course." Answered Man number three.

"SOUL also has a very big role to play in assessing the students for music…" Man number two continued.

"I see…" Man number one commented

Then thankfully the three of them walk out the door, so that's what SOUL stood for I thought to myself. Then I wondered what those men were doing in the hall, when I remembered the announcement…

The major shareholders of the school were coming to see how the school has been fairing so far, they'll be checking out the facilities and what not, so, the school told us not to be alarmed if any of them enters while we are utilising any of the special facilities.

I was going to get up from my cramped space between the chairs when the door slammed open and gave me a shock.

Miku was skipping to the stage when she spotted the two of us on the floor and stopped mid step, with Barzini almost crashing into her, peering around her shoulder, Barzini asked, "What are you two…um…doing on the floor…?"

"Nothing...!" I said in a fluster.

"O~k~…"Barzini said.

One by one…or should I say two by two the others came in and took the front row seats again. I looked around and accounted for everyone glad to see that no one was late or missing.

"Ok! So everyone follow Barzini's charge…seeing as he wrote the script…" I said.

"Alright people! Let's charge!" holding his fist up like some general, and close behind Miku followed suit with a leek in her hand.

"Dude…I think we need to go…scene by scene…" Amoz commented.

"Yes…ok…" Barzini mumbled, then he shouted, "Mai cue in the backdrop for the first scene…"

The backdrop flashed into view, the 360 view stage captured the scene beautifully at was as if you were transported there, it was better that any 3-D movie ever watched.

Piko stood facing the window just as the script dictated. Then knocking on the 'door' Haku enters, her expression natural just as if she was made to play the part. She was carrying in a pot of Acacia, a vocaloid item if you were wondering where it was from. By the end of the first act, which ended with some sweet moments. I could hear the collective sigh of everyone as everyone let out a breath they didn't even know they were holding.

The scene change was subtle a quick fade out and in. From the prince's room, we were thrown into the finery of the throne room.

"Ok so who is going to be the narrator for this part?" I questioned pointing to the script.

Before anyone answered Barzini said, "Actually I wrote that part for me…so…"

"Ok then Barzini will do that part!" Amy sang. Which was followed by nods of agreement around the hall.

Act two finished smoothly with not much complications.

Act three opened with the prince's room again, with the prince packing to leave, as he had fallen out of favour with the king.

"Whose gonna play the part of the cameo here?" I asked Barzini.

"Well…" then turning to the others, "…any volunteers…cameo has to be human though…"

"I volunteer Amoz!" Rin raised her hand as high as she could and announced.

"EH~! No fair! Then I'm volunteering Zhengyi!" Neru counter argued.

"The cameo has to be a female…unless you want the both of them to cross dress…which will be…interesting…" Luka said in a matter of face voice, and she sounded so serious I wondered if she was joking about the cross dress part of not.

"You…you p-play…the part…" Meiko stammered while pointing the half empty sake bottle at Karina.

Putting up her hands she said, "A-are you sure?"

Barzini turned his attention to Karina and said, "Well if you have no objections then…"

"She'll be the cameo!" Len announced from her side, nodding his head.

"Len~! What are you doing?" Karina said to him in a hush whisper.

"Well, then that's settled then…" Hannah said, while Karina was shooting her a look.

"Go on up on stage then…" Mai looked up and gave his input, voice echoing throughout the hall.

Act three was relatively good, Karina was still a little nervous, however when they got to the part where Piko had to shake her, he was a little hesitant however after a few reassuring words from Karina and Yukina he delivered it with great conviction. Right after that was Karina line and her action of dropping and hence smashing a pot.

Poised to drop the pot, Karina turned and asked, "There are extra pots right?"

"Yes," said Amoz, who was in charge of props.

Barzini nodded for her to proceed.

Act three ended with Piko running and jumping off the stage with sword in hand as the lights went out. Had to say he looked quite the prince in that stance, I was thinking how the reading must have paid off.

Act four slid in while Barzini was narrating, the backdrop with dimmed lights and shadows, that with a sound of swords clashing and blood splattering illuminated by flickering torches on the walls. The eeriness was very realistic. Piko finally appeared stabbing the last of the guards that guarded Haku's cell.

Then following the script Haku said, "But why? Why did you come for me? I am of inferior blood!" Piko stared forlornly at her as the rushing of waves was heard and the intro of the song played, they started dancing circling each other, two spotlights training on them, then Piko answered in a surprising impromptu, "That is because you transport me to a place where I want to be…" Then as if Mai was in this too, the background faded out to a balcony overlooking the sea gently lit by lanterns in the four corners with Michelle and Zhengyi on the drums and piano which were elevated from beneath the stage. Then Haku though in a bit of shock, started singing, and I could feel that the one line Piko added himself made the whole scene fantastic. The scene ended perfectly and there was an awed sense in the room.

Moving on to Act five, with Barzini narrating at the same time showing the both of them retreating to the prince's room, Piko was mortally wounded. By the end of the scene, Piko chooses to fight, with Haku crying out in the background, with his blood spilling on the Acacia.

The echoes of Haku's cries could still be heard reverberating though the hall, when the scene cut to Act six in a newly decorated throne room, and a short narration.

As the last scene faded out, Haku hurried off the stage, I realised that when she was aware that people were looking at her. Her instant shyness would take over. Piko just regally walked off maintaining the princely air.

"That was a fantastic line!" I said to Piko.

He nodded sheepishly, as everyone started commenting on that too.

Yukina said, "Must have been all the romance novels we've been reading recently…" then she turned to Haku who was hiding behind Allen, "That scream was powerful…"

"Th-thanks…" Haku said, her face turning red again.

"Nyan~! That was nicey!" SeeU said to Haku.

We did one more run through, and the warning bell sounded telling us that we had to get out soon.

"The next rehearsal?" I automatically turned to Aki and asked.

"This coming Sunday…a day before the actual…at…" her eyes went out of focus then she cheerily announced, "9am!"

"Ok~!" I said, repeating the timings to everyone again, "don't be late!"

* * *

><p><strong>Finally! You must be thinking! Haha! I congratulate and thank you…arigatou!... for reaching the end of a very long chapter. Hope it wasn't bad… It's the longest I've ever written…and also the one with the most characters (22 in total so far)…I hope the introductions of everyone helped…so…yes… I think I've typed too many words that I'm running out by the time I get here. I didn't reveal too much of the script because the story will unfold in the next chapter! Find out what happens next by…um…staying tune! Thanks to Barzini-san for helping a lot too! Review! Cos some feedback is always nice! And I'll give you meron pan of course.<strong>

**Me: *flops onto bed***

**Kaito: *flops beside me* That was some first week of school…**

**Me: I know right! Feel like I've ran a marathon.**

**Kaito: *holds out ice cream* Merry Christmas!**

**Me: Thanks~ **

**So since this is a Christmas eve…just wanna wish all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! (Kaito says he bought all of you ice cream too!) **

**Well that's all folks till next time! Mata ne!**

* * *

><p><strong>Okay! See what my co-author can do! 10,000 over words! So proud of her! My Protege! -cries in happiness- O_O<br>Anyway, expect a fairly long chapter from me too... I'm at 8.5k words and I haven't even done 40% of it... . And also, if you review this chapter, stand a chance to win a Meron Pan drawing! O_O**

**_Pah werid sonaan Lunerio, wen yuvan lovaas meyz Fo, het ko vulon_**

**Dragon language! (No, it has nothing to do with the story)**

**OC SUBMISSION SHUT!**

**See you guys soon, and Merry Christmas Eve!**


	7. Chapter 7

Well... Forbidden Love... Can't say I really am for such a sensitive topic given by the teacher, but we are only students. We obey. No questions asked.

"Which one of you can play a musical instrument?" I asked, scanning through my to-do-list and looked around my band of follo- I mean, friends.

"I can play the piano?" Michelle said hesitantly, and I scribbled on the piece of paper as a group of us walked down the corridor. Amoz was trying to convince Rin that Miku was not, in her words, "a turquoise-haired noise machine" and that was especially difficult because Miku was following me, and saying it too loudly would have been disastrous. SeeU on the other hand, was constantly brushing her hair with her hands, her cat ears twitching, and coincidentally, in the direction of Amoz and Rin. Luka, was however, just casually walking in a rather weird manner. One step forward, a skip, a step forward, another skip.

"Noted... Zheng Yi?" I turned to ask the dark-haired boy who was slouching, and he looked at me from under his hair. Neru Akita was admiring her katana, and grinning absent-mindedly to herself.

"Well... Drums?"

"Noted. Mai? Get off playing God of War just for a while, I beg you. What can you do?" I asked, rolling my eyes at the sight of him tapping away on his Playstation Portable.

"Light, sound, controls. The usual." He said without even looking up.

"Okay, we'll celebrate for our CCA for now. Meet in my room at 6 tonight for dinner? (Underlined meaning is actually more discussion but well...)" I said, and they nodded, going their separate ways, and after a quick conversation with SeeU, Miku returned, her face obviously upset.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, and she shook her head, and looked away, wiping her face with the back of her hand, and kept quiet, no matter how I tried to egg her to talk. As we walked to the AVA club door, I took a look at Miku who was not walking in her wide strides as usual, but taking small steps, her head lowered and wiping her eyes constantly with the back of her hand.

"Come along now." I said, walking away from the club entrance, and Miku looked up for once, her eyes slightly red, a look of complete surprise.

"B-But… You have CCA right..?" She asked, her voice a bit shaky, and I sighed, and walked over to her.

"Come along. I can't have my friend who stays with me everyday all upset. I won't be in the mood to do anything." I smiled, and grabbed her by the arm, and gave her a push forward, and she coughed, and her tears really started to flow.

"Barzini… It hurts… Hurts…" She cried, and I gave her a hug, careful to make sure that my hands won't really sink through, but as my hands touched her, I blinked and opened my eyes.

Did it… Whoa she felt real.

I tried adding a little more force, and expectedly, my hands went through her this time. I must have been dreaming.

As I let go and started walking towards the Streets, she was holding her hands together, at where a human's heart would be.

"It hurts here…" She sobbed, tears flowing down her eyes, but I did not respond to anything she said, and when we reached the dessert shop, I just took her to a more quiet area of the shop, and ordered leek ice cream for her, along with leek soda and a leek tasting cake.

As the food appeared before her, I just gestured at them.

"Eat up. It's from the money I got from the bet." I said, and she shook her head.

"Miku… Okay. Now that you have your favourite food in front of you, I want you to tell me what is wrong." I said, turning off my iPhone.

"Well… SeeU… SeeU told me that… Rin thinks I'm… a hypocrite… A cheerful appearance and a dark inside. I don't know why… But it hurts… Hurts here… Am I ill?" She placed a hand over her heart, and tears rolled from her eyes silently.

"Ah…" Now it was clear why she was so upset. Looks like those cat ears on SeeU aren't for show after all. Oh and wondering why and how I knew what Amoz was talking about? Amoz and I have been friends for so long that we don't keep secrets from one another. He told me exactly how Rin felt about Miku.

"Okay… First off, you're healthy. I think why it hurts there…" I pointed at where her hand was, and smiled kindly-

"When someone is upset. Their hearts may ache. Or even… Feel… Heavy?" I asked, and after a moment of thought, she nodded silently.

"Now, you see. Kagamine Rin… She's known for her temper and attitude towards you. Never nice. But of all the nasty things she can say, one day, she'll realise how important a friend you are. And also, in this life, you can't please everyone. Maybe one person will like you, and the world hates you. The world loves you, and one person will hate you." I said, sitting back on the chair, looking at Miku who was apparently digesting what I have been saying.

"So... Barzini-san. What do you think of me?" She said, her head tilted slightly and I leaned forward slightly.

"Put it this way. If I do not like something, I don't keep them. Same with people. You are one of my dear friends." I smiled, and she smiled as well, and she took out a pack of tissue and wiped her tears, a small smile on her face.

"Eat up then." I gestured at the leek ice cream in front of her, and she looked at them and grinned, and picking up the spoon, she took a scoop off the leek ice cream and placed it in her mouth and squealed.

"Oishii~! You won't be blamed for skipping CCA right?" She asked, positively beaming at the vast variety of leek food available in front of her. I think she wouldn't even care about it really. Put one leek food item in front of her, and when she is in a good mood, you instantly become transparent.

"Well... I think... Meet you in my room? You eat first. I go for my CCA?" I asked her, and she looked up and seemed to consider that thought for a moment.

"Okay, Barzini-san~! See you in your room at 5!" She waved, and picking up the fork, started to work her way through the cake. Waving, I slung my blue Levis Strauss bag around my shoulder and left.

"Cheer up kay?" I said loudly, and started walking to the Club entrance.

Xxx

As I pushed open the door, the room was a scene of utter darkness. Was I lost or something? I swear this is the place...

Walking slowly, deeper into the room, the doors slammed shut by itself, and I turned around, and gulped, hurrying over to the door and trying to tug it open. My only source of illumination-

Illumination...

I took out my iPhone and saw that it was already dead. No hope in looking for an iPhone torch light now.

"Guys! This isn't funny!" I said loudly, steeling my voice, and walking deeper and deeper into the room, bumping into a coffee table.

As I walked, there was suddenly a light cast on a girl, surrounded by dolls, with a teapot set. Her head was bowed, and the whole scene was hurting to my eye from the strong life. Near the girl was a window and you could see lightning and rain, and hear the distant sound of thunder. It was raining outside?

"Won't you have tea..? One plate… Two plates… Four plates… Five plates… Six…" the girl counted the tea saucers on her tray and I walked towards her.

"Miss?" I asked, but she ignored me.

"Seven… Eight… Nine… Where… NO!" She shrieked, the voice sending chills down my spine, and I backed away.

"Where is the tenth plate? WHERE IS IT!" She screamed, and as I backed away step by step, the light died down, accompanied by distressed and demented laughing.

I saw a shadow move towards me, and I grabbed the coffee table that I bumped into, and the laughing continued, with the shadow moving towards me, with her hand outreached, my heart pumping.

"YEARRGH!" I swung the table at the shadow and the table make impact, and my heart lightened instantly. The wooden thud only making me more cheerful, for I know this was a bloody prank.

"You die now ghoul!" I purposely shouted loudly, and raised the end table above my head, and I heard a guy screaming instead, and the lights came back on.

"Well, I have to say. You keep your cool more than most of my other prank victims. The name is Ganor, Ganor Chap. Pleased to meet you."

I looked up and saw a Caucasian man grinning at me, standing at where all the lighting and sound controls were. I saw that I was on a stage, and that I had slammed Zheng Yi to the floor with the end table. He was rubbing his right arm.

I held up my hand to him and helped him up, grinning and apologising to him profusely. But in my defence, I thought I was about to be devoured by a woman counting her plates or saucers for that fact.

"Why were you late? This is your punishment but I see that you handled it pretty well." Mr Chap said, taking off his bowler hat and bowing a little, prompting me to bow back in return.

"Something of a rather personal nature, Sir." I replied, and apologised once again to Zheng Yi, and I saw Mai standing at the controls, grinning at… Was he finding the affair funny or what was on his PSP amusing?

"Alright, students. What you all saw just now was a demonstration of modern technology. Like the rain, lightning and thunder. All these effects can reach realism if you tweak them according to the area, well enough. I am sure, Mr. Barzini, will actually, agree with me he thought that it was raining outside." He cast a glance at me, and gulping, I nodded and placed my bag down, hugging my laptop.

"Yes, but don't blame Zheng Yi for the falling through of our little plot. Mr. Barzini did keep his wits about him more than the average victim who would be screaming and weeping, And also, we had a slight fault in our equipment which was sadly within range of Mr. Barzini's sight even in darkness." He sighed dramatically, taking off his hat off and placing it at his chest and sighing dramatically.

"Okay, anyway… Now how do make these effects? How to make these backdrops? You first need a translucency film. With your backdrop expertly drawn on it. You can also use Crypton's latest technology to print it on the translucency film as well, of course. Then project it using…" He pointed at a projector, and then walked to where Mai was. The controls.

"Okay, Mr. Barzini, and the other 12 of you. Come now." He smiled, touching the board of all the buttons and knobs as if they were his… PWECIOUSSS… Sorry… Fanboy moment from Lord of the Rings.

So… Mai, myself, Zheng Yi and twelve others huh…

"Now… this tunes the contrast between colours… The corresponding colours are below the knobs here… And these sliders here change the intensity of the beams projecting down…" He demonstrated, and pointed at the stage, with the colours dimming, brightening, or sharpening.

"Then, multiple projections…" He went to another set of slides and knobs, and more and more lights appeared.

"A total of 122 lights can be projected at one go. But of course, no one ever uses that many…" the teacher in his bowler hat bowed.

"Then… To help all of you with your music projects, I am going to teach all of you, the basics of scene projection in 360 degrees…" He took a translucency, which was the setting of a typical room, and slotted it into a machine, and the machine gave a long "WHIRRRRRRRRRRR" and after a while-

"There! Look at the stage." The teacher pointed at the stage, and we turned, and gasped. As much as it wasn't all that clear, a room was forming, and hearing more buttons being pressed, more knobs being turned, the room got clearer and clearer. I kept my eyes on the set of teapot and cups, and watched as the colour got clearer and clearer.

"Now… Of course, you can bring your own props and place it there to compensate for what's not there… And also, I strongly suggest that obviously moving objects in the case of human cameos or acting, such as doors, be the real deal. Note that your vocaloids can interact with all of the objects in this holographic room." The teacher said, and the ideas started to form in my mind.

"Then… Sir, question. What is the software called to so-called, paint these backdrops on a translucency film." I asked, and the teacher clapped his hands together, and mouthed, "OH!"

"Okay! Follow me, ladies and gentlemen!" He walked to another room, where there was a huge machine with a screen, and a touch screen control.

"Just insert your thumb drive or memory card into the slots… And… Select your JPEG files… Then just press print… And it'll give you a perfect translucency… If you want certain things in it, just photoshop it in perfectly, otherwise, when projected, it will have those borders… You people hear?" He took off his bowler hat, revealing his combed white hair and turned to face us, and we nodded.

"Yes, teacher…" We replied half-heartedly. Now, I was eager for the lesson to end. I already got what I needed.

I think!

Xxx

By the time everything was over, with regards to the CCA, it was only 5pm. 1 hour away from the agreed time. Was Miku still eating and wondering about the Kagamine Rin incident or was she already waiting in the room? I guess that there is only one way to find out.

Opening the door, I saw Miku asleep on the couch, dressed in her signature black and turquoise coloured, her eyes closed, and a slight smile on her face. Dream predictability- Leek 99.9%, and something else accounts for 0.1%.

Quietly, I sat down at the dining table, and turned on my laptop, and went through my notes. Western medieval castle huh… King… Prince… Maid… Flowers… I scratched the back of my head in confusion. I was never one for all these medieval times. Why couldn't we just do something from World War Two or like… Call of duty!

And as Smosh puts it… "THEN YOU CAN CALL IN AN AC-130 AND (censored) those (censored) UP!"

Sighing, I pulled up Microsoft Word and started placing a story together in my head. Flowers… Flowers…

What if those flowers had a meaning? A meaning of love?

"Google… Here I come…" I pulled out the search engine, and after keyed in the words, "Flowers and their definition" and hit the search button and clicked on the first site given, and grinned. This was perfect.

Roses… cliché… Chrystantenum… Nope… Acacia… N- No, wait.

"Acacia… A symbol of Concealed love and… Platonic love…" I said aloud and pulled up a picture of it. It looked perfect.

Adding the flower to my list of props, I now had to figure out, what our beloved Vocaloids were going to wear. Well, their distinction of rank was obvious. However, how would their costume look like? Not too common, definitely. It must be unique. Unique!

"Okay… I would discuss it with the group later. They may have more idea about costumes than me… I'm clueless…" I said to myself.

"How about that very cool person we were looking at the other day, Barzini-san!"

I turned around and saw Miku awake, swinging her legs and pointing at the Shakugan no Shana DVD sitting on my end table.

"Who? There isn't a prince in Shakugan no Shana…" I said, picking up the disc before flinging it back onto the end table.

"No! The person! The person who transformed from a skeleton!" She said enthusiastically, holding her leek in front of her face like how Merihim, the character did with his sword. The Rainbow Winged gentlemen did look like a medieval prince. And one who could even use a sword as well…

"Okay… Thanks Miku! You're a gem!" I gave her a thumbs-up and took that down under costumes in the Word Document.

"Miku! Any idea about a maid costume?" I asked, and she thought for a moment, before nodding enthusiastically.

"Willhelmina Carmel!" She said, and I shook my head. Too much purple. Maids are well known in medieval times to dress up in plain colours, it was too… bright?

"You feeling better?" I asked Miku without turning around, and I felt a shade of turquoise flash before my eye. Miku's hair.

"Yes. Mucho better!" She smiled, walking to sit directly across me, twirling her leek and nodding her head slowly with the leek.

Looking at the clock, I sighed. 5.38pm. A good twenty minutes left to think through the storyline.

Sighing, I pictured a scene of the maid meeting the prince. But how does the flower come in? How do they all fall into place? What would the King do? When does the written song come in eventually?

Sighing, I got about to write a story, and closed my eyes occasionally while working on it, picturing the scene in my mind. A nice medieval room… A castle, obviously… A sword mounted on the wall… Acacia…

As I typed away on my word document, I wondered to myself repeatedly, the question-

"Who do what? And what do they do?"

A castle… A maid… A prince… A story of Forbidden Love… Forbidden love… A wanting for the love of each other… Stopped by others…

Arrows. Sword. Blood. Love. Throne.

Twenty minutes later, I smiled at the screen and saved the document. The script was done. Not too long and not too short. Though it was a tad bit dramatic. To sum it up, a maid and Prince had been child hood friends, so Haku Yowane, the maid, has always harboured romantic intentions to whom she serves, Piko Utane, the prince. So, one day, Haku indirectly confesses by getting Piko Utane some Acacia, but sadly for her, he understands the meaning of the flower. That is when the real drama unfolds!

Picking up my iPhone, I sent a text message to Nicole bearing the following content…

"The eagle has landed. The eagle has landed. The script is sitting in your mailbox."

Soon enough, I heard a knock on the door.

As Miku opened the door for me, Michelle entered first, with SeeU following behind her, in her signature orange dress. Then Amoz, with Kagamine Rin, whom Miku greeted politely nonetheless.

"No, no. You go in first!" I heard Zheng Yi exclaim in alarm, and I stretched my head out the door, and saw Neru Akita holding her katana and waving it about carelessly.

"You do know that the katana can't hurt you." I pointed out. Anything the vocaloids do to us will literally run through us. Just like a blade.

"I know… I know… But…" He raised his arms to shield his face and ran into my room, and I waved to Mai who was walking down the corridor with Luka, and he nodded, his PSP swinging by the side, and he nodded. Luka was holding a…

I rubbed my eyes.

Was she holding a huge tuna in her hand?

"Whoa! What's that you're holding in your hand, Luka?" I asked, and she held it out, and to my relief, it was just a virtual plush toy, though it was huge.

"Kawaii~!" Luka grinned, hugging the huge tuna.

"Alright, come on in folks." I ushered them in and closed the door behind me, and had them seated around the rectangular table, and I seated myself at the head of the table, and sat back in the chair, and clasped my hands together, my eyes drifting slowly from one to the other, and only travelled away to the next person when they shifted uncomfortably on their seats, or when their Vocaloids had similar reactions.

Miku who was beside me, suddenly stood up and went to her room, as I continued my staring at my fellow team members, and suddenly, behind me, the theme music from the Godfather started playing, and everyone dissolved into laughter, effectively smashing my attempt at establishing dominance within this group.

"Miku! What was that for!" I cried out, half-laughing myself, and she, smiling, walked over to me and kissed my ring finger.

"Hello, Godfather!" She bowed, and I completely lost it, and started laughing. Even Kagamine Rin was having a hard trouble keeping a straight face. Instantly, the tension I attempted to create melted away.

"Alright alright… Go and have a drink or something… Uhh… Miku, if you may…" I said, telling her to unlock the fridge so that both vocaloids and humans can get what they need.

Amoz got himself some Milo, Zheng Yi took out a can of Cola, Mai shook his head and Michelle went to take out a packet of Ribena, while I stuck with my glass of cold water.

Alright, you were expecting that the Vocaloids could probably get something to drink in the fridge. But uhh… Sadly, even if they wanted to, the best they could do was Leek cola. I swear I did remind Miku to get some more… Widely accepted drinks. But honestly, leek cola is nice.

"Okay, well the script is done. Nicole should have gotten it by now. But the issue remains on props. We need costumes for our Vocaloids. Piko's one is settled. But anyone got ideas for the maid costume and queen costume needed later? And also, we need props for a Western Medieval " I asked, and they considered the question seriously.

"Sometimes, if you can't picture how it can look like, why not draw it out?" Michelle said, and I sighed.

"I can't draw anything at all."

"How about the girl from Rozen Maiden? Her maid costume is pretty distinctive and unique. I believe her name is…Suigintou… " Mai said matter-of-factly.

Pulling up Google Images, I keyed in the given information, and my eyes widened slightly. It was perfect. Just perfect for the prince who would have a slight glow in his costume, and I noted it down in the word document.

"Alright, the maid costume is settled then. How about the queen's costume?" I asked, and everyone looked at each other slightly clueless.

"How about we just… Google it and rip it off?" Amoz suggested and I shook my head.

"That'll be the desperate path we will take. But I want everything to be unique." I said, and Michelle sighed.

"Why not I draw? You let me know how you want it to be like." She said, taking out her Wacom tablet, and holding up the stylus.

Closing my eyes, I tried to picture how a maid could become a queen. A costume of Suigintou's colour… It must retain the essence of the maid costume but reflect the power of the Royalty.

"I want it indistinctive from blue and black, just like Suigintou's costume. However, now, at the front, where a skirt would be, make it disappear. Make it look like you know how the prince would be like, almost the same colour as the previous maid costume though." I said, struggling to put out what I was seeing in my mind as words.

"So basically, the Merihim's costume in her colours, just slightly darker. But also meant for girls. Correct?" Michelle said, and I nodded.

"The patterns on her costume… Not too many and all over the place. Just elegant where they should be at. The ends of the costume and maybe a few to the waist." I said, and Michelle nodded.

"Shaddup. I got an idea now." Michelle grinned, and I froze. She asked me to "Shaddup?" That was so unlike her!

"Uhm… Okay. Now, let's figure out what props we need, assuming that we have a human acting in it." I said, and they nodded.

"Well, according to your script… We do need a decent number of items…" Mai said, and I nodded.

"You can get tea sets for humans in the streets! The very classic ones along with those that look like a leek boat!" Miku chirped, and I nodded.

"Medieval ones? Like the ones that look like gold or something." I asked around, and Rin nodded.

"I saw that kind of set before."

I took that down and scratched my head. What else did I need now?

"You need some sort of table or a drawer to put your tea set on, in the case of a human acting." Zheng Yi pointed out and again, I typed it into the computer.

"But you won't find the kind you want around here, I guess." Michelle said, not looking up from her tablet as she continued drawing, her silver bangs covering her eyes as she drew.

"What do you mean my kind?" I said defensively, and her hand stopped for awhile and she looked up, grinning, her hand coolly putting her ponytails behind her.

"The ancient relic type that reflects your personality. Need I say more?" She grinned, and after a moment of silence, Miku started clapping, and everyone except me started laughing, clapping. Neru was still holding her katana, and laughing caused her to swing it about, causing Zheng Yi to cringe.

"Please. One war at a time?" Mai grinned, whistling, and Michelle did a little curtsey before going back to drawing.

_Must… Resist… Temptation… To… Laugh…_

I couldn't help but grin. I always had this habit for behaving older than I really am. I rarely think of the box unless I had to, and would always stick to the old ways of doing things even if they are somewhat tedious.  
>"I guess we can buy a drawer and paint some gold patterns on it? With gold paint? What do you all think?" I asked, and Amoz chorused his agreement.<p>

"That's settled then. Now, let's settle the sword that the prince is going to use." I said, and the boys all sat forward eagerly. And before you start giving me the face in which you go, "URGH BOYS. VIOLENCE."

We're boys for a reason!

"Alright, how about a nice western style sabre." Amoz said, and I rolled my eyes.

"No, Katana!" Neru piped up.

"Obviously it is Western! But it shouldn't be too difficult, right?" I said, and they nodded, pointing out that there was a store in the streets that sold Western collectors' items even for Vocaloids.

"Okay, let's just wait for Michelle now. Let's order pizz- Do they sell pizzas for Vocaloids too?" I asked, and I turned to look at the Vocaloids who shrugged. No idea.

"Fine… We'll stay here and starve…" I sighed and fell onto my bed, yawning. 7.29… 7.30… Wow time passes so quickly…

I felt my phone vibrate and saw that it was from Supreme Allied leader, Nicole. Looks like there's been an update on the current war situation.

"Alright fellas. Looks like the lyrics are here." I sat up and walked over to my laptop, and logged into my hotmail account, placing my phone at the side.

Miku bent over to look at the screen and read aloud, Nicole's message.

"The lyrics are done! You are such a gHeek! Sticks! Out! Tongue!" Miku said in an extremely high voice, and I hastily kept my phone in my pocket.

"Aww… gHeek." Michelle laughed, still drawing. Apparently colouring now.

Opening up Hotmail, the most recent email was…

"OH MY GOD GUYS. CHECK THIS OUT. NEW SKYRIM MOD." I pointed at the mail, and Amoz hurried over.

"Christ! These guys are fast! What's it about?" He asked, and we started pointing at the computer screen.

"Guys…" Zheng Yi coughed.

"Oh my god! Improved graphics along with improved performance! What the heck are we waiting for! Oh wait. Check this out. Improved weapon textures." I squealed, frantically enlarging the image.

"Guys…" Mai said loudly.

"Gosh… Amazing… Look at the new Iron Battleaxe texture…" Amoz wowed, and we nodded our heads, marvelling these work of art.

"Guys! The lyrics!" Michelle said loudly, flinging a tissue box at me which hit me on the shoulder.

"Okay! Okay! We were getting to it!" I raised my hand in surrender.

"Magnet. That's the name of the song, guys. Magnet." I said loudly, and they all echoed back the same words…

"Okay."

"Yes."

"Got it."

"Hai!"

"Nyan!"

"Dude, I can see for myself."

As I scrolled through the lyrics, I almost fainted. A tune for this? It would be so… Wow… It must be a bit…

"Piano girl! Where's my piano girl!" I said loudly, and Michelle looked up, raising her hand, before she looked back at her tablet.

"We! We can do the music! We, the Vocaloids!" SeeU pawed her face, and then started shaking Michelle, who was of course not affected by it to plead with her.

"Yes, Barzini-san! We can do it!" Miku started hitting me rather violently with her leek. Thank god I couldn't feel anything.

"What do you mean we? Leaving me out, are you? Me too! We all can do it!" Rin Kagamine glared at Miku, and Luka instinctively went to stand between them. Neru had her hand on her katana, eyeing both Miku and Rin.

"Sure! Leave it to us!" She said, and they all turned to look at their human friends, who nodded.

"Sure… Why not..? We'll see what you all can come up with. You have… An hour. 8.40… something must be done. You all go to Miku's room." I said, and they left, discussing among themselves frantically. Even Rin was actively discussing with Miku, her hand making a lot of gestures.

With the music now at the hands of our Vocaloids, the humans now were to exert incredible mental pressure on Michelle by not speaking and staring at her.

Despite of this fact, Michelle took her time, even looking up to ask for another packet of Ribena.

From Miku's room, you could hear the occasional, "Ah.. Ah! Ta- la. Ta! Nope..." or... "Yes, that's it!"

By the time she was done, it was 8.20.

"Okay, guys. What do you think of this." She placed the tablet on her table, and I bent over to see, my eyes even widening slightly. It was amazing.

Haku Yowane was dressed in the same colour I described. A little more than black. A little less than blue. A cloak of that colour, holding a half-drawn sword, and a circlet with a great bleu sapphire upon it. Then her design on the sheath of the sword was supposed to be black, covered by golden carvings of moon and flowers. On the cloak itself, the ends were with gold thread upon them, of tilted squares stacked upon each other, which looked extremely pretty.

"Put that in 3D motion please." I said, and Michelle nodded, and hit a play button at the bottom right hand corner of her tablet./

In 3D simulation, Haku's hair flowed gracefully behind her, the sapphire sparkling on her head, as she rotated about the spot, not moving, only her hair flowing, and sword sheathing and being pulled out.

"Perfect. Email it to me." I said, excited.

"Will do. You can get it made in the Streets. Or if you actually pick up the skill and machine needed to make it... But let's stick to having them made for our Vocaloids for now."Michelle said.

"Now... All we need to do is... Okay. Wait. I'll be back. You guys wait here and check out what our Vocaloids managed to turn out."

I picked up my laptop and waved goodbye to all of them as I started walking to the AVA club. I needed the machine to create the virtual environment. And virtual guards too, along with their equipment and many other things.

Xxx

"Plug in... Okay. Start." I held my breath as I sent the castle background of the Blue Palace from Skyrim into the machine, and after a while, I sighed in relief as a translucency film came out.

"Uhm... What else did we learn? Okay... If I want to add a guard in... I'll have to have a complete animating figure... Who can move about on their own... And fight when the command is given through console... And more projectors..." I said to myself, placing the translucency film into a file, before connecting my laptop to the machine again.

"Uhh... Settings... Create new... Animation... Import... From Skyrim... Whiterun Guard..." I said to myself as I pressed the buttons on the touchscreen.

_Importing model and animation. Please wait._

Those words reflected on the screen and I pulled a chair across the room and sat down in front of the computer or machine.

Soon, the familiar guard I see everytime I walk about the city of Whiterun in the game appeared on the big screen.

"Set commands... AttackSsubject... AttackBWsubject... Die... DrawS... Fallobject... Dieobject..." I sighed as I keyed in the command.

The guard was dressed in yellow tattered cloth, rather, dark yellow, carrying a shield with the insignia of the city upon it, wearing a helmet and with chain mail underneath the rag, and leather boots. They also carried a bow and arrow along with a sword.

Oh, I almost forgot. S and BW in this case referred to sword and bow respectively. Thus they will attack with a sword and a bow. Subject refers to whom they will attack. Thus, if I placed subject as Piko Utane, they will attack him. Of course, these effects, though they are all virtual, will not cause harm to our Vocaloids. Fall and die refers to fall on object for example, a table. Die means... Well... Die on the spot.

_Saving as virtual installation... Saving to Barzini's PC... Saved!_

Great. That means in the performance, I just need a few more projectors, connect my laptops to them, and get into a frenzy typing commands. I wonder how the Vocaloids were doing?

Xxx

With my file and laptop, I opened the door, to get blasted by a huge amount of chatter. Wow. So the moment the party pooper leaves, there is a party?

"No! Cymbals louder here!" I heard Miku said loudly, and a virtual leek came flying my way, which I ducked by instinct though it was harmless.

"No! Piano louder here!" I heard Luka snap, and this time, a huge tuna came and went through me. Too big to duck.

"No! Bass guitar louder!" SeeU wailed, and oh for sure... I had to dodge this salmon though if it were real, I'd probably catch it. It's expensive!

"Equally loud! Equally loud!" Rin said, and an orange came this time, ricocheting off the wall as I came in. The humans were all lying on the floor, panting.

"SHUT UP!" I shouted, covering their voices and they fell silent.

"What's going on?" I demanded, looking at Michelle who sat up.

"They came up with the tune. On screen, it is nice," she pointed at my desktop computer, "But... the dynamics and harmonies argument just got violent. We couldn't stop them." She panted.

"Stop the nonsense now. Let me take a look." I snapped, putting my laptop and file aside and walked over.

"You Vocaloids did this?" I asked, pointing at the sheet. Apparently, Miku had done it with the rest of the Vocaloids on her computer and transferred it here through shared database.

"Yes!" SeeU said, smiling from ear to ear, her hands up in your basic NYAN posture.

"Okay... So the instruments are piano, bass guitar which is only used a little and... Drum set." I said, and Amoz nodded, sitting up.  
>"Let me just..." I imported the sheet into a software I had, ACID Pro, and waited for it to import all the sounds for their sheet, and pressed play.<p>

"Let's see how it will sound like as it is." I said, and turned on the speaker.

Piano entry... Moderate loudness, soothing... The same beat and sound went on for three times, and the next piano sound was so loud it made me fall off the chair. What was worse was that it went on four times.

"Guys! This is too loud!" I paused the music and dragged the notes down and played it again, now that was better. Next came the guitar which sounded a tad bit too cheerful.

"Bring that down a notch, Barzini." Mai said, and I nodded, turning the pitch even higher, so for a bass guitar when you bend the guitar strings, it would turn out in an extremely low tune.

The bass guitar went on another four beats, and here came a string of piano music, that were more intense, and came up with the clash of cymbals. However, the cymbals were a tad bit too loud, or the piano was.

"Should I bring down the cymbal or piano?" I wheeled around and ask, and Miku said loudly, but Luka and Rin disagreed. I turned to Neru who was the most calm among the Vocaloids.

"Cymbals softer." She said, causing Rin and SeeU to glare at her, but dying down when Neru drew her katana and cut Miku's leek into two (Obviously Miku was heartbroken. But she was fine with a new one from the fridge).

I did as she said and true, it did sound better. It even had... a more... Simulating effect for the mind.

As the piano music intensified and peaked at some parts, I counted the cymbal beats. And suddenly, it changed to low bass guitar again. Around 8 beats. Cymbals.

"We start the lyrics after the last clash of cymbals before it changes to bass guitar." I said, and Miku waved her leek.

"That was the plan!" She smiled widely, twirling her leek.

"MY plan." Rin scowled and Miku pouted.

As the bass guitar went on, a slight hint of drums came in as well, blending in perfectly with the low sound of the bass. At one point, the drums intensified, and the beats became faster and faster.

"Chorus can be here." I said, and they agreed.

"That was the plan." Miku chirped again, but this time, facing no opposition from any of the Vocaloid members.

As it continued, the piano slowly came in, still in its rather fast tempo, and the bass guitar slowly faded away, replaced by drums, which Amoz and I decided to make softer than piano. And when the drums stopped, I pointed out-

"Song continues here again."

"Correct." Neru nodded gravely.

As the music continued, the cymbals came back in along with drums, SeeU piped up, "Chorus again!"

Then when it ended, more drums came, accompanied by a few keys by the piano, and at the end of these single keys, I noted to myself, referring to the lyrics sent to me by Nicole-

"Song again."

At the loud beating of the drums, I took a look at Nicole's lyrics and noted that only the fourth chorus was left, and whatever that was left in the sheet could be placed here.

"I think we done it. The bass guitar I can have ACID Pro to do it. Michelle, Mai, you two, I will print the scores and you two go back and practice it okay? And tomorrow, meet here again at 9am. We are going prop hunting."

"Yes, sir!" Miku saluted enthusiastically while the rest nodded.

"Sorry about dinner… But you're welcome to have as many drinks as you like before you leave." I grinned, and Neku rolled her eyes.

"So, we drink leek cola?" Neku said, and Miku's face darkened.

"LEEK. COLA. NICE!" She said loudly, and Neku's eyes flashed, her hand reaching her katana.

"B-But maybe it isn't to others." Miku added, holding her leek in front of her as if to protect herself.

What good would a leek do against a katana?

And what good could my team do against such a huge task?

Xxx

Alarm clocks. Don't you love them?

They are supposed to wake you up on time. Keep your daily duties straight. So that you won't be late for anything. Oh, and take my advice for it. Make it only for humans. Not the kind Vocaloids can touch in Crypton.

Oh, and if you have a meeting with someone, leave your phone on. Will probably save you from your Vocaloid.

"I'll be wearing white… When I come into your kingdom…"

I rubbed my eyes and felt for the phone on my end table, which was singing Sam Tsui's version of If I Die Young.

"Hello…" I mumbled into the phone.

"Barzini! Where the heck are you! It's 10! Our most beloved history teacher is fuming." Michelle said hotly, and I rubbed my eyes and stared at the clock on the wall.

TEN.

"Oh hell! Sorry! Be there ASAP! STUPID ALARM CLOCK." I yelped into the phone, and hung up, and thundered into the bathroom, and washed up, got changed.

"Miku! Wake up! Wake up!" I went to her room and shook her bed, the girl in the white dress stirred and still, she opened her eyes slowly.

"It's not 12 yet… I tired… We both need rest." She yawned, and I looked at her disbelievingly.

"TWELVE? SERIOUSLY? YOU SET THE ALARM CLOCK?" I asked her, and she nodded a little before trying to go back to bed.

"Okay! I am getting up, Barzini-san! Chotto!" She said, and I quickly ushered her to the bathroom where I waited impatiently, drinking a glass of milk.

She came out, her hair tied, in a white dress, and bowed.

"Where are we going?" She asked, and I glared at her.

"LESSON. NINE o'clock." I said simply, and after a while, a look of horror appeared on her face, and she covered her mouth with her hands.

"I-I AM SO SORRY! I FORGOT! I… I… OH NO. YOU HAVE EYEBAGS. SO I WANTED TO LET YOU SLEEP MORE. I… SORRY! GOMEN!" She bowed, most apologetic, she was. But it doesn't change the fact that we are late.

"If that's your reason, alright. But don't ever touch my alarm clock again. And! My laptop… Okay, let's go!"

With my laptop in hand, we quickly left the dormitory, and briskly walked to the class, where Mrs Gregory's face was thunder.

"Blundering fool!" She shouted, and threw her duster at me, and I shielded Miku.  
>"TERRIBLY SORRY!" I bowed, but she shrugged it off.<p>

"You will not be allowed to sit down unless you can give me the terms of the Treaty of Versailles!" She screeched, and I perked up. Treaty of Versailles? Sure thing. But... Let's play along for a moment shall we?

"T-The Treaty of Versailles?" I stuttered, and her triumphant grin widened. Miku sighed. Looks like neither of us is going to sit down today, she must have thought.

"Yes! The treaty that the Triple Entente forced upon Weimar Germany! And if you can give me just the major clauses! You can even sit down." She gave a witch-like laugh, the peacock hair accessory trembled on her head.

Amoz was trying to mouth something, and he kept doing the universally known money hand gesture, Rin was mimicking someone marching, possibly a soldier, and she held her hands to her sides, reflecting a reduction in size. Michelle was running her hand across the table, like a car, or... A tank? As SeeU was doing hand effects in front of the hand-vehicle, the cloud like gesture. Karina was gesturing at the world map on the textbook, while Len was uhh... Eating a banana.

Hannah was... Absent. Allen was... Well, silent and un-moving. Haku Yowane was looking at her knees.

"That is a tough one, Mrs. Gregory. But I believe, that territories of Imperial Germany were carved up. First, territories gained in the Franco-Prussian War was given back to France, and German territories, including the Polish Corridor and Russian territories yielded in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk formed Poland. Also..." I started, and as I rambled on and on, Mrs. Gregory's face sunk, and the aura around here turned darker and darker.

When I was finally done-

"May I sit down now? Mrs. Gregory?" I asked politely, and she glared.

"NO!" She shot back, and picking up the textbook, she flipped randomly and grinned when she saw where it stopped.

"Tell me this. I promise I will let you sit down. The Korean War. Name two prominent leaders in that war." She leered, and I sighed.

"Kim Il-Sung and Syngman Rhee. Thank you Mrs." I said, and ushering Miku, we quickly sat down.

Mrs. Gregory stood there for a moment, and the peacock on her head was rocking back and forth.

"Okay... Class, turn to page twelve of your textbook. Today, we are going to examine the Treaty of Versailles." She said, and I leant over to Amoz.

"Tell everyone. After history, we go to the streets." I whispered, and he nodded, bending over to Michelle.  
>If someone told me that today was the start of a busy day...<p>

Give him a dollar. He got it.

Xxx

"Alright, this is it people. Michelle, settle the costumes, here's the 3D projection for Merihim's costume." I handed the thumbdrive to the dark brown haired girl, who nodded and left.

"MICHELLE! MEET BACK AT MY ROOM WHEN YOU ARE DONE!" I shouted after her, and she waved back.

"Mai, go find a tea set. Buy 3 of them. I trust Luka's taste. Make it good. Remember, money doesn't matter because we can just claim it." I said matter-of-factly, and he left as well, with his Vocaloid behind him, hugging a gigantic soft toy tuna.

"Zheng Yi. Go and find a sword. A medieval western one. For Vocaloids of course. Make sure it has that touch of royalty." I said, and he nodded, and left.

"Amoz, let's go and get our dresser." I said, and he nodded, and we walked down the street, made a left turn, made a right turn, went straight, and came to this really old looking furniture shop.

"Hey, they sell dressers here." I said, and Amoz nodded. Rin had seated herself on a Vocaloid rocking chair and was yawning while Miku was walking about, staring at the mirror.

"How's this one, it's teak wood, and... Comes with a mirror." Amoz pointed at one, which well, true, looked nice. However, they didn't come with mirrors in medieval times. So, sadly, no.

"Where's Miku?" I asked, and Kagamine Rin sighed, and pointed at a corner of the shop, and me, following the direction where she was pointing, and I smacked my forehead with my hand, before walking over.

She was lying on a bed, her eyes closed. No, it's not meditation. It's sleeping.

"Aww... Miku... Come on!" I said loudly, and bumped into a dresser while walking to her direction.

"Say... This is perfect." I said, running my hand across the dresser. It was made up of prettier Rosewood, a darker, red colour. Then, it was the simple, basic, pulling action dresser. Not those fancy rotating ones, and no mirrors on it.

"Towkay (Local dialect for boss)! How much for this?" I said to the old man with a receding hairline who was fanning himself with a fan made of cane.

"Fifty-eight!" He barked, and I nodded, and opening my wallet, I gave him fifty-eight dollars. I'm broke...

With that, Amoz and I started heaving the dresser all the way back to the dormitory through the relatively crowded streets, with Miku and Rin on top, shouting-

"Gambatte!"

"Just a bit further!"

"Come on, Amoz! We can do it!" I grunted as we staggered to the hotel-like-dormitory, where a bell boy turned up to help us, and when we got into the room, I closed the door behind me, and fell forward, face down, onto the floor.

"I am getting too old for this." I said loudly, the floor reflecting my voice sideways.

"Barzini..." I heard Amoz say, and I lifted my head slightly.

"We forgot the gold paint."

Xxx

"Thank you so much, Michelle..." I said, as I took the can of gold paint and brush from her, and she smiled, and handed me a receipt.

"So the costumes cost over 300? Outrage..." I sighed, however, not my problem. Crypton's footing the bill!

"All we need to do is for Allen to scan it and it'll be sitting inside Haku Yowane's wardrobe. And... Also, for Yukina to scan it too, then welcome Prince Utane!"Michelle said, passing me a paper that had two barcodes printed on it, and took out a comb from her bag and started combing her long brown hair, and stroking her silver bangs forward to cover her forehead.

"Zheng Yi... Let's see what we have here..." I took his barcode, and sent it through iPhone, and pulled up a visual.

"Say…. Awesome." I grinned, as at the sword had a blue sapphire at the hilt, and had the curve at the handle of the blade for grip. It was a true European or Western-styled sabre. And on its sheath, it was a dark blue, lined with gold.

"Costs about 300. Told them to put it on Crypton's bill…" Zheng Yi yawned, and sat on the couch and closed his eyes.

"Okay… You guys wait here… Wait no. Miku!" I called out to the Vocaloid who was sitting by the window, her hair blowing in the artificially created wind by the Crypton glass-like shell to simulate land and sea breezes.

"Hai~?" She said loudly turning around for a brief moment before turning back to face the window, closing her eyes.

"Can you go and buy the Acacia pot plant from the Vocaloid mart?" I asked, and she turned around and narrowed her eyes at me, before jumping up and bowing.

"Sure~! Barzini-san!" She smoothened her long white dress, and opening the door, she pranced out of it, and I closed it behind her.

"I need to teach this to her someday. When you open the door… Close it…" I sighed, knowing that I will probably forget to later on.

Hatsune Miku.

If only you were real. I'd cook Spring Onion for you every day.

As long as I have the money of course.

Xxx

5.50 pm.

"Okay, Amoz! You stay behind and watch the props, and you can finish painting while you're at it." I said to the poor boy, who opened his mouth but closed it again.

"Fine… Fine…" Amoz sighed, and dipped the brush into the can of gold, and I slung my bag around my shoulder, placed my laptop and file in it, and beckoned for the rest.

"We need to meet Nicole and her Mafioso by 6. Come on, I don't like to be late." I said, and we left. Leaving behind a very sad Amoz, to paint the dresser and of course, Kagamine Rin, whom I thought was sulking.

Oh no... I forgot... There's orange in the fridge...

Xxx

"Miku go in first!" The vocaloid in a white dress pranced in, and I heard a loud, "Boo!"

Grinning, I entered the air-conditioned music hall and apologised to Nicole and Kaito, "Sorry about that."

As Michelle went through her scores, Zheng Yi went to stand at a side with SeeU, tapping out the rhythm of Sinnerman, and I was about to head to the sound control room when Nicole asked-

"What happened to Amoz? Did you kill him for insubordination or something?" She joked, and I grinned. Me and my war stuff. I was about to respond with a cheeky comment when I heard a really high voice beside me utter, "Barzini wouldn't do something like that!" and a leek went flying past me.

Kaito caught it, and I thought I saw something a little less than murder in his eyes, and he handed the leek back to Miku after warning the turquoise haired vocaloid to not hurt Nicole, and I stepped in between them.

I watched as Michelle and Zheng Yi head to the stage, and I beckoned for Mai to follow me, and we headed to the sound control room at the back of the hall. It was lit with a bright orange light, and all those systems there... So beautiful...

"This is... A work of art." I laid my hand on the system gently, afraid to hurt MY PWECIOUSSS...

"Cut the chatter. We got work to do." Mai said, and I nodded, pressing a button which flicked green, and the microphone on the board gave a soft yellow glow.

Mai pressed a button on the wall, and we could hear everything being said outside of the control room.

"Okay, so how about a run through... So that Piko and Haku can get a feel of a tune." I heard Nicole said and I moved to the microphone.

I plugged in my laptop the system and timed the bass guitar sounds precisely, tuning it on the system and the laptop itself.

"Bring down the lighting. It's blinding me even from here." I said softly so that the microphone can't detect my voice, and Mai brought it down, and changed it to the more gentle orange light on the stage.

"Yes…Uhh... Okay." I spoke through the microphone, responding to Nicole, and stood at a control board overlooking the control for the microphones near the piano. However, there was definitely no need of it. The acoustics sent the melody clearly through the hall, much less needed to be said regarding the drum set. The sound carried well.

Some 25 seconds or so into the music, a rough estimate, I saw Michelle gesture at Haku to sing, and when she opened her mouth, a most melodious voice sung, the lyrics that the opposin- I mean, other team had created.

Then some way through, Piko joined in, and they sang together, and I could barely distinguish whose voice was whose.

"Lower one of their microphone?" I said, covering my own microphone in the control room so they won't hear what I was saying.

"They're not using mics remember? And bring down the volume of your ACID Pro computer bass guitar. It's a tad too loud I believe." Mai said, his eyes travelling back to his PSP screen. Looks like he is still playing God of War.

"Yep, sure." I brought the sound down on the system itself. There was always one disadvantage in lowering the sound on the laptop itself. There is a more narrow range of loudness compared to the system.

"Looks like it's all going well." Miku tiptoed and whispered in my ear, and I whispered back to her, "Do you even know why we're not talking loudly?"

"No." She whispered back, and I thought to myself. Prank or tell her seriously?  
>"Well… You see… Nicole there… Is actually a spy. I work for the Internal Security Department in Singapore… She is in an organization sworn to destroy all leek." I whispered back urgently, and slowly put my hand inside my pocket.<p>

Miku's eyes widened in shock, and she looked at Nicole from the glass window, who had just called for the end of the music, and Mai stopped ACID Pro for me, seeing that I was whispering constantly to Miku.

"B-But Nicole doesn't look like the sort to do such a harmful thing…!" She whispered back and I shook my head.

"She's an extremely dangerous. She's been affiliated with the Anti-Oranges terror organization, Viva La Meat group, Anti-Banana terror group. I even got orders to…" I stretched my hands a little in my hand to form the shape of a gun, and I lowered my eyes a little and nodded to my pocket, and Miku looked as well and her mouth opened slightly.

"Really? But… Nicole-sama is so nice!" She sighed, and I had to suppress a grin. Boy, she was gulliable.

My eyes snapped forward when I heard applause and I moved beside Mai.

"They just harmonized the song… Get ready." He said, and I nodded, and nodded solemnly to Miku who appeared devastated.

I stared at Haku Yowane, and I couldn't help but feel that this performance would be a great confidence booster to her, I watched as she sang, unrestricted by the shyness in her heart, with Piko's voice coming in to blend perfectly with hers.

"That... Was nice. I couldn't have done it better myself." I heard Luka say, and I grinned. One day, she will sing too, and the people watching will say the same to her. In my mind, I was already thinking of what song Megurine Luka was going to sing. Maybe something grand too? Or something similar?

"Barzini-san..."

Wait, Miku? What would she be singing? Something cheerful, not about leek hopefully. Maybe something about a spoilt girl. Maybe about leek actually. Should I or should I not?

"Then why are you talking to such a dangerous person?" Miku whispered and I looked at her seriously, trying to keep a straight face.

"You see... I'm undercover. And the government doesn't want me to blow my cover... We need more evidence against Nicole... You know what her nickname is?" I whispered back to her and Miku's eyes widened.

"Nicole The Leek-Stomper." I hissed and Miku's mouth widened in horror and she closed it, and held on the sound control for support.

"Barzini! Anyway I can help?" She whispered, her eyes widening and I shook my head, narrowing my eyes.

"Stay safe and don't tell anyone else." Miku nodded, and turned to look at Nicole who was gesturing and speaking.

"Barzini! Look, the dance!" Mai whispered, and I nodded, as Haku and Piko moved towards each other, their hands touching and separating, and as Haku sang, her hand in front of her, and another one over her heart. When Piko Utane joined in the singing, their hands brushed with each other, before pulling away and their hands moved gracefully, their legs nimble, making the dance soothing to the eyes. At the chorus, their hands met each other, raised, forming a mirror image of each other.

At the bridge, they stopped, and I considerately turned off the microphone before clapping. Amazing.

"They're good!" I said to Mai and he nodded.

"They sure are." He said, turning up the volume of outside the sound control room so that we can hear clearly what they are saying.

"That…was really nice so far…" I heard Nicole say, and Miku applauded silently.

"Solo! Haku should do a solo!" Amy's voice came through the speaker and I promptly booted up ACID Pro again, in case they decided to sing again. Always be ready. That is my philosophy. However, it became clear that they were discussing how the song could be sung, so I pulled the chairs from the back of the control room for the three of us, Mai, myself and Miku. Luka was observing outside.

"...chorus repeats…twice if I remember…" Zhengyi said as he twirled the drum sticks about his finger.

"Mai, you know. Would you be disappointed if we didn't do well?" I asked, casting a glance at the boy who was playing with his PSP.

"Never expect anything. That way, you won't be disappointed." He replied, and I sighed, nodding a little. That was true.

"Well we can introduce some variations in the last two choruses…" Michelle remarked and gave some directions for that part.

Just before they got to the last part, I said, "And at the last line, Piko should do thisI watched as Nicole walked up to Haku and gently cupped her cheek with one hand while singing the last line, watching Haku blush, then she continued, "…and right when the song ends…will be the kiss…"

"Haku is so shy! I am going to make her more confident!" Miku said loudly, throwing her hands in the air, and turned on the microphone.

"Then let's take it from the top!" Miku said enthusiastically, and did a little cheer dance, which was only visible to people in the sound control room.

As the piano started up again, Mai and myself got busy, and started tweaking the lighting for the skit in advance though it was a bit annoying, because I wanted the skit rehearsal to go through smoothly in one shot.

"Light one... Darker..." I said, and Mai repeated that as he made the light on the stage slightly darker, and I nodded, and turned the knob for the colour, changing it to natural lighting, which made it look as if the sun's light had entered the place.

"For the most parts, we'll be using natural lighting from the changeable ceiling... Make it to sun and clouds please." I said, and Mai walked to the right, and pulled up a large touchscreen and pushing it, changed it to a sun and cloud environment.

"Good. It looks like the lighting by the sun or so-called sun is enough..." I said, and Mai seemed to stare at the stage for a moment before nodding.

"Looks like they're finally done." I said, pointing to Haku and Piko who had walked off the stage, and was being greeted by a beaming Allen and Yukina.

"Let's go. Change it back to the starry sky ceiling." I said, and left the room, and Nicole came up to me.

"Will the props be done by tomorrow?" She asked, and I nodded, knowing that Amoz was most definitely not slacking at that moment.

"Yup... All ready in fact... Amoz was missing because he was handling that." I said, and Nicole clapped her hands together, enthusiastic and hyped.

"Okey! Tomorrow, we will run through the song and script!" She announced, and we left. According to Miku who had been listening outside, it was same time same place.

"Barzini-san! Have you any idea how I can get that laptop of yours? It looks amazing." She said as I hugged my laptop.

"Not sure. Unless there was this method of transferring human items to Vocaloid ones, it'll be a pretty difficult problem." I said, and Miku sighed, looking at the laptop longingly.

"Your leek dishes look nice too..." Miku sighed, her head bowed as she walked beside me, her face puffed up, hands behind her back, twirling her leek.

"You really like some of our things huh." I said, and she sighed, nodding, looking up at the night time skies, as a raindrop came down.

"We better run. Miku! Stop being so gloomy!" I laughed, and reached for her hand and she smiled also, transferring her leek to another hand, and holding mine, although hers going through it a little, we ran through the rain, giggling and joking about it.

By the time we reached the dormitory, both of us were drenched, and Miku being a female, I let her into the shower first. So how does a geek kill time? Proudly turning on the computer since Bill Gates invented Windows.

_I swear, the weather simulation in the Crypton shell should be clear, sunny. Unless they can have a Chance of Meatballs._

I posted that on Facebook and looked at the 124 notifications and sighed. I haven't been on Facebook for ages, and apparently someone I know is still very active.

_Hatsune Miku commented on your status.  
>Hatsune Miku posted on your wall.<br>Hatsune Miku tagged you in a post._

I smiled and scrolled down my wall, and her remarks were all extremely cheerful and full of smiling emoticons. With one even cheekily commenting-

_You're so inactive! I am going to paint your wall turquoise and put a print of me! OwO_

I smiled and sat back in my chair, and was about to rest when a brainwave struck me. The conversation just now. What if it could be reality? I did take some courses and lessons on programming!

I pulled up a list of scripting tools along with some software text string editing programmes, I got to work, editing this code or that HTML.

When Miku came out, I didn't get back to the shower until a while later. I was going to make it work. For a better future!

For a happier Miku!

Xxx

"A-ACHOO!" I sneezed, walking to the Music Hall with Miku who was dressed in the shirt with a leek imprint along with jeans. I was sheltering both of us with an umbrella.

"Barzini! Baka! I told you to go and shower before doing all those weird numbers on the computer! Now you got a cold!" She chided and I nodded. It really was my fault. Now I had a runny nose and was wearing a sweater because Crypton decided that the interior of the shell should be like the environment. Wet and freezing from the rain.

"S-Silence... I- I didn't wa- WA- WACHOO!" I sneezed and blew my nose into a tissue, shivering.

As I approached the Halls, I closed my umbrella and placed it in a plastic bag provided, so that water won't drip all over the place. Then, three men in suits came out of the door, almost bumming into me.

"Ah! Hatsune Miku!" One of the man said, and stretched out his hand to her, and Miku backed away, her eyes wide.

"Alas, Hiro! Their memories are new remember?" The other man said, and Hiro sighed, but he smiled at Miku.

"She is your Vocaloid?" He said, and I nodded.

"What is your name?" Hiro asked, and I backed away as well. Wait. Oh yes! Crypton Future Media members were in the school! They must be them!

"B-B-BARCHOO! Barzini, sir." I said and he gave me a pat on the shoulder.

"You got your hands full with her. But she's a gem as well. Treasure it!" the third man said, and taking out a controller, he pressed it and the rain subsided, and they stepped out into the cool evening air.

"I want one of those." I pointed at the controller before entering another sneezing fit, and Miku sighed, entering the cinema, closing the door behind me with a tad too much force.

"I always wanted to stand on the stage!" Miku chirped and with me following, she skipped to the stage and when she suddenly stopped, I almost rammed into her.

Wait... Who...

Taking into mind what I saw, unfortunately for them, as I have been watching too many dramas and romance movies-

"What are you two... Um... Doing on the floor?" I said, slightly horrified, and the manner in which she replied only made my case harden.

"N-nothing." She was clearly flustered.

Oh wait. Kaito is a Vocaloid. What was I thinking...

"O... Kay..." I mumbled, and as the rest of our group filed in, I stood up and sneezed, instead of having that Iron-Chancellor image.

"Okay! So everyone follow Barzini's charge... Seeing as he wrote the script..." I heard Nicole say, and I stood with my fist held up.

"Alright people! Let's charge!"

"Dude... I think we need to go scene by scene..." I heard Amoz say and I nodded in agreement.

"Yes... Okay... Mai! Cue in the backdrop for the first scene!" I said loudly, and Mai slid the translucency to the main projector which provided the forward imagery, and projected the image to the other projectors in the Music Hall, giving a perfect 360 degrees castle backdrop.

Amoz and the others heaved and huffed to move all the props on stage, and scanned the various clothing for the Vocaloids acting.

Act One. Piko was in his room, facing the window, and Haku comes in with an Acacia. Then, a brief conversation, and hug. Slam cut to the next scene. The throne room. An imaged king, and Piko quarrelling in a silent scene.

"Ok. So who is going to be the narrator for this part?" I heard Nicole ask, and I looked around.

"Actually I wrote that part... So..." I started and Amy cut in.

"Okay then, Barzini will do that part!" She said loudly with others murmuring their agreement.

Act two went on without a hitch. Slam cut, to the next scene. The prince hurriedly packing his items until-

"Whose gonna play the part of the cameo?" Nicole asked me, and I considered that question for a moment.

"Well... Any volunteers? Cameo has to be human though." I announced and looked at the crowd.

"I volunteer Amoz!" Rin raised her hand and sabotaged her human companion.

"EH~! No fair! Then I'm volunteering Zhengyi!" Neru perked up, and her human owner was horrified, his eyes wide.

"The cameo has to be a female…unless you want the both of them to cross dress…which will be…interesting…" Luka said in a matter-of-fact voice and I looked at her. Say... That would be interesting indeed.

"You…you p-play…the part…" Meiko tilted her sake bottle in Karina's direction, slurring. I need to sabotage that Sake with some tea somehow...

Putting up her hands she said, "A-are you sure?"

I turned my attention to Karina and said, "Well if you have no objections then…"

"She'll be the cameo!" Len announced from her side, nodding his head.

"Len~! What are you doing?" Karina said to him in a hush whisper.

"Well, then that's settled then…" Hannah said, while Karina shot her a look. Was that annoyance or embarrassment? I couldn't tell.

"Go on up on stage then…" Mai's voice boomed through the hall, and I nodded at him.

Act three was relatively good, Karina played the part of an innocent maid pretty well. But there was this issue of Piko being hesitant to shake her as requested in the script, however, after some persuasion, he did it well, and Karina reached her line and smashed the pot, as requested by the script.

Poised to drop the pot, Karina turned and asked, "There are extra pots right?"

"Yes," said Amoz, who was in charge of props. He was looking bleary-eyed and Rin was energized. My dollars on oranges.

The next act, Piko wielded the sword, which shone in the light of the dungeons, and attacked the animated guards, with one lying down clutching his stomach, and the other falling onto a table. I turned to give Mai a thumbs-up.

As Piko released Haku, she asked, "But why? Why did you come for me? I am of inferior blood!" and the piano sounded, and the spotlights fell upon them.

"That is because you transport me to a place where I want to be..." He whispered and the backdrop changed, to a balcony overlooking the ocean which was in the hard drive of my computer. Mai was efficient. Kudos to him.

Michelle and Zheng Yi on the piano and drums rose up, playing their instruments as the Vocaloids danced and sang, I sat down at the seat and watched, appreciating. Admiring. They were amazing.

Slam cut. My narrating of their ill-fated attempt to escape, accompanied by both moving and still images, and as they were about to retreat to the Prince's room, the guards let loose their arrows, hitting Piko, mortally wounding him.

"I like the blood effect. I just googled tomato ketchup and I got that." I whispered to Miku who giggled.

Haku trying to convince Piko to rest, and the constant effect of the door being rammed, and him caressing Haku's face... Then the door slammed open, and the guards filed in, and Piko with his last strength, hit out at his attackers...! Then, a guard slashed him, and as the blood splashed across the room... Haku screamed and the blood fell onto the Acacia...! The acacia then glowed red, which was once again, visual effects.

The next act was made up of narration and still imagery, drawing the skit to a close.

As the last scene faded out, Haku hurried off the stage, and Piko walked off the stage calmly, and Michelle got to re-scanning the attire so that the blood stain would be gone.

"That was a fantastic line!" Nicole said to Piko and I gave him the thumbs-up, and he gave an embarrassed nod as everyone added in.

He nodded sheepishly, as everyone started commenting on that too.

"That scream... Was really powerful." I heard Yukina tell to Haku, whose face turned a bright shade of red, and I was about to comment as well when SeeU cut in.

"Nyan~! That was nicey!" SeeU pawed the side of her face.

We did one more run through, and the warning bell sounded telling us that we had to get out soon, or suffer a fate... Worse... Than... Being locked for one night. What were you expecting? Horror style?

"The next rehearsal?" Nicole automatically turned to Aki and asked.

"This coming Sunday…a day before the actual…at…" her eyes went out of focus then she cheerily announced, "9am!"

"Ok~!" Nicole said, repeating the timings to everyone again, "don't be late!"

I moved to Haku and extended my hand to her, and with my other hand on my iPhone, she shook it, her head bowed and embarrassed.

"You did great today. Go share this with Piko." I smiled and scanned a pack of Marshmallows which appeared in her hand, and she was absolutely thrilled.

"Arigato!" She smiled, and bowed a little, and I waved, before Miku and I left the music hall. If this performance was going to be a failure, I want everyone to learn one thing.

Haku Yowane, is our friend. She is not alone.

Xxx

For the next few days, history was... Typical. We were made to re-enact the line firing tactic used by soldiers, and had to memorize the clauses of the Treaty of Versailles. Mrs. Gregory didn't attempt a new offensive phase on me as well, primarily because I gave her no reason to.

However, I also had another commitment. The creation of an app that can clone an object of ours so that Vocaloids can use them too.

However, Miku also got new clothes, primarily because I had to figure out the scanning system worked. She got a nice long summer white dress, some sandals, and a beach hat which she simply adores because she says-

"I can hide leek under the hat!" She smiled, twirling the hat with her finger, beaming.

As the day of the actual performance got closer, I still kept working on the programme. I just couldn't seem to get the command through to clone the object, and that stopped me working on the Saturday. The day before the final and most crucial rehearsal.

"Barzini..." Miku sat on my bed as I laid in it, resting, and I made a sound, acknowledging her existence.

"Want to play?" She asked and I opened my eyes slightly.

"Play what?"

"Mario Go Kart!" She said enthusiastically, waving her leek and shaking her head so close to mine that I sunk deeper into bed.

"No thank you." I said and tried to get back to rest.

"I beat your race record."

So what? So what if- WAIT WHAT?

I sat up, and glared at her.

"You're finished! You're kaput! You're finished! We race now!" I walked to the Wii and picked up the human controller and she picked up the Vocaloid one.

Which explains my black eye bags the next day.

Xxx

"You look... Dead." Amoz said when he saw me and I nodded, most zombie-like. Miku wasn't even trying to talk to Rin this time. We both were lethargic.

"What up?" He asked me and I shook my head.

"Unfinished business." I yawned and Miku yawned after me, as if we both had agreed to be tired together.

"Last rehearsal man! Cheer up!" He said and I shrugged it off buying Miku and myself a cup of coffee, but I still felt dead.

"Just one day... One... No... Two..." I yawned, and Miku suddenly yelped, and stood up, her white dress swaying, and she kept turning about the spot, biting her lips and her hands clutching her skirt.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked, and she suddenly hugged me, sobbing.

"Whoa! What?" I said, now fully awake.

"I forgot to bring my leek out with me!" She wailed, and I practically lost all the energy rushing through me just now, and almost fell onto the floor.

"We are both tired... That's why we forgot~!" I yawned, and lugging my laptop after me, I dragged my feet to the Music Hall, with a teary-eyed Miku following me. If I had the energy, I'd accompany her back, but I was near the brink of collapsing as well... So...

"Okay. Just two run-throughs. And I need to go back to bed." I sighed and everyone was already there, all hyped up and chatting. In contrast, it looked as if I was a soldier who had fought a battle non-stop.

"Mai, Luka, Miku... Let's go..." I said, shaking my head, and entered the room, and turned the ceiling to clouds and natural lighting.

"Prepare the spotlights. And start backup generator. Hand me the roster, Luka." I said, and I stretched my hand out.

"I can't. I can't touch it." Luka said, gripping her tuna soft toy, and I smacked my forehead. Brain is not functioning.

"Gomen!" I said, and got it myself. Looks like everyone is trying to book this place today. We only have an hour fifteen minutes.

"An hour fifteen. That's all we got fellas." I said through the microphone and Nicole turned around and I saw her give a thumbs-up. Kaito's face was buried in ice cream, and Nicole considerately had him sit at a corner of the stage with a tissue box which wouldn't obstruct the act, and allow him to clean himself the moment he is done with his ice cream. Haku was standing beside Allen, whispering to each other, dressed in her maid costume, holding a pack of marshmallows in her hand. Yukina was taking photos of Piko holding his sword, and the vocaloid was doing different poses. Karina and Amy were bent staring at a laptop, presumably watching something and fangirling. Michelle and Zheng Yi should be at their instruments... Along with SeeU and Neru...

"Amoz should be at the props right? And where is Hannah?" I asked Mai, who nodded, then shrugged.

"I saw Meiko and Hannah backstage. They have Sake." Luka said, and sat down at where Mai was supposed to, and I went there to grab chairs for all four of us.

"Okay, from now, radio silence. Begin when you have to begin. Over and out." I said through the microphone and turned it off.

"Translucency. Up." Mai said, and the backdrop fell into place, and Amoz hurriedly moved everything on stage, as Mai turned off the lighting on stage, plunging everything into utter darkness so that the audience won't be able to see what is going on.

"10... 9... 8..." I counted, and when it hit 0, I turned the light back on, and there was Piko at the room, and Haku entering.

"Wait. We can only do one run-through." I said, and Mai turned to look at me.

"I think so too." He said, and I looked at him puzzled.

"Look." He pointed to a group of three men, the same three I saw yesterday entering, and my eyes widened. They sat down at the front row, but the vocaloids on stage just ignored them.

"Miku, ask them why they are here. Go!" I hissed, and Miku seeing that I am all energized, ran out of the room and went to them, and she bent over them for a while, her mouth moving.

"We only have three tea sets. Karina smashed one. We smash another one, and the last one for tomorrow." I said, and Mai looked at me, his mouth forming an "OH."

As the performance went on, I turned on the microphone and narrated, casting light just on the imagery and the king so that Amoz can drag the dresser and other props out. The door opened and Miku walked in, her hands swinging left and right casually. She was most relaxed.

"Well? Why are they here?"

"They tell you not to worry. They'll be watching the next day as well." She said, mimicking a guy's voice but ended up in a failure because her voice was still pretty high, and I grinned at her failed attempt.

"What?" She pouted, and leant forward staring at my face.

"N-nothing." I grinned, and then, a still imagery of the king standing beside a chest full of gold bars, and gesturing at it while the guards looked on.

"10 seconds fade out." I said quickly, and Mai did so, and when the light came back on, the backdrop and props had changed, and Piko was there. Then came Karina and her world famous pot smashing act.

Slam cut, fade to black. I turned on the microphone and narrated again, and Mai played the imagery on the stage, and set the backdrop to the prison cell, and then the dead guards.

Then came the song and dance. Michelle and Zheng Yi rose onto stage at their piano and drum sets respectively, and the piano started, and ACID Pro was setup to play on its own, for the two had practiced so well that it was at worst, one or two seconds off, and ACID Pro could be manually adjusted as well, so no worries.

As they danced and sang, Michelle pounded the piano in great enthusiasm, and Zheng Yi was positively grinning as he hammered away at the drum sets. Haku turning about the spot, her hand raised and singing.

Then, their hands touched again and separated, a mirror image of each other, as the music and song hit the chorus, and this was it. This was the moment.

I held my breath as Piko leaned down to kiss Haku, who closed her eyes and leant in, and their lips met, and as the scene turned to black, I thought I saw Haku's face reddening.

"Why do people blush when they kiss?" Miku asked, and I stared at her and my own face reddened.

I turned on the microphone and narrated, and then turned it off.

"You will know when you're older." I said hastily, and helped Mai change the scene and program the guards, and as the arrows let loose, I saw one of the Crypton executives grip his seat and I grinned. This was the effect I wanted.

When it ended, the Crypton staff stood up and applauded, and everyone down there bowed. Of course, we, the sound people are the unsung heroes of every concert and the likes. Haku did a little bow with her maid costume before hurrying off, and Piko saluted them with his sword.

"That's it fellas. Pack up." I spoke through the mic and powered down the system, and giving Mai a pat on the back, I left with Miku, and returned to the dormitory, and I laid down on my bed.

"OH GOD! IT FEELS SO NICE!" I rolled about on my bed, and Miku jumped onto it.

"What are you doing? Go to your bed!" I poked her and she shook her head.

"IYA DA! I am too tired to walk anymore! Just let me rest here for a while! When you're asleep, I'll be gone!" Miku whined, and after a few attempts at getting her to wake up, I gave up and closed my eyes, and it was not soon later that I fell asleep.

Xxx

"Oh... what time is it." I sat up and looked at the clock. 8pm. Dinner time." I sighed and sat up, and saw that Miku was still asleep beside me, curled up and hugging part of the pillow.

Shaking my head, I got off quietly, and went downstairs to buy Miku some fried rice and some noodles for myself, and when I returned, Miku was still sleeping quietly on my bed, her body rising and falling along with the rhythm of her breathing.

Going to her, I shook her gently.

"Miku. Wake up. Dinner."

Her eyes opened slowly, and she sat up, rubbing her eyes and giving an almost comical yawn, and she got off bed.

"I feel hyped up!" She said as she stretched herself, and skipped to the dining table, and she smiled.

"Itadakimasu!" She said loudly, her eyes closed in a smile, and she picked up the spoon and started eating, squealing and clenching her hands together at the delicate flavour.

"Barzini-san! What are you doing on your laptop recently?" She asked, cocking her head a little as she chewed.

"Something that will make all our lives happier." I said, and Miku seemed to consider that for a moment.

"I'm happy enough around you... So..." She lowered her head and I thought there was a faint trace of red on her cheeks, but obviously, I must be thinking too much.

"Well... I'm happy when you're around too." I laughed, and drank from my glass of water and she smiled.

"Really?" She chirped and continued eating, and suddenly, she looked up as if she had forgotten something.

"Pa la dad a pa la di da di pa la pi la~" She hummed as she walked to the fridge, and pulled out a leek cola from it and settled back down to eat.

"That was a nice tune. Where did it come from?" I asked, and she was beaming.

"I made it up! I heard it in my dream!" She chirped, taking a small sip from her leek cola and sighing in contentment.

"Nice! Should I buy a percussion controller? Kurt Schneider's is so cool..." I sighed, and mimicked him tapping away at the machine, producing the sound of drums.

"Up to you! Is it fun?" She asked and I considered that for a moment.

"Is singing fun to you?" I asked her and she nodded straight away.

"Same reasoning, Miku. Same reasoning." I said, and raised my glass of water as if it was champagne to give her a toast.

"Cheers!" Miku said enthusiastically, and hammered her leek cola against my glass and we laughed.

Tomorrow. It all ends tomorrow.

Xxx

Jacket. Sweater. I knew it. I should have just worn it here. Not just when I have a cold. I was freezing in the music hall. There was a transparent piano on the stage, where there was a spotlight upon it.

"Welcome, welcome to another day-" SOUL started and the fire in me burned.

"One more cheap ripoff from the Potter films!" I said loudly so that SOUL could hear me, and I could hear a frown from him.

"But lessons are so boring without doing these! Fine! What do you suggest I act as?" SOUL's voice boomed through the Hall, and I considered that question for a moment.

"Oh fine... Just... Go on with the lesson..." I sighed, with nothing coming into my mind, and SOUL continued-

"We have my creators here, three Crypton Future Media staff members or executives, who will be grading your performances along with me. Now, group leaders, the next projection shown is in which the order your group will perform." SOUL said, and a screen was brought up, and I groaned. Our group was right at the bottom. Last to perform.

SOUL must have noticed my reaction because he added, "All randomized by another system. Not by me. Now, may I have the first group to perform?"

I sighed. I liked to go first. Get things done quickly so you don't have to panic later on. Get it done and over with.

Mai, Luka, Miku and myself were seated closer to the Sound Control Room so that you won't have to waste time moving about in this huge theatre. Efficiency is the key to winning a war!

"Let's watch what they have against us, shall we?" I whispered to Luka beside me and she nodded, clutching her tuna plushie.

"What did you say to her?" I heard Miku whisper to me.

"I said to her, let's watch what they have against us, shall we?"

"Lies! I don't believe you!" She pouted and tried pinching me. It didn't work, but I got her point.  
>"It's the truth!" I whispered back and she narrowed her eyes for a moment.<p>

"Okey! I believe you!" She smiled and held up her leek.

The first performance was an adaption of Romeo and Juliet, so it did fit the theme of Forbidden love, however the song was pretty... Dull... But kudos to the Vocaloids for their beautiful voices.

"I like Juliet's dress." Miku whispered to me.

"Isn't that the same one you got on opening day when we entered early?" I whispered back and she nodded.

The second one was horrifying. Even the Vocaloids seemed reluctant to sing the song themselves. Its backdrop was a torture chamber and was supposedly about the kidnapped falling in love with the kidnapper... However, the lyrics seemed to be hastily thrown together from a couple of real life songs which I recognised.

I realised that you could hear SOUL sighing or... Was he clucking his tongue (He had any! Or was it just sound)... The Crypton staff were scribbling away on sheets of paper...

However, some were pretty good. One had a war scene...

"I swear. That's not even a battle. I'm going to make a bigger bang next time." I whispered to Miku who waved me off by placing her leek in between my mouth and her ear.

The other had the tragic wailing scene...

"Why! Why did you die!" A red haired vocaloid wailed over his brother, apparently killed by the former one's lover. So, his heart is still with the killer, and the killer ends up falling in love with him as well. And their song was pretty good-

"Stab me, for separating with you is more painful than death." The male vocaloid had a hand over his heart,

"Listen to me, for love is more painful than living." The female vocaloid sang, her hair a lush green, holding a blood stained dagger.

"And now..." SOUL yawned, and you the big screen appeared again, and he boomed-

"Nicole's group!"

"We're up. Wait... You guys go on first. I need to do something..." I ran down the steps of theatre and reached Haku who was shivering.

"You'll do well. We're rooting for you. No pressure. You already gave it your all in your rehearsals." I said simply, and gave her a pat on the back and ran back up the steps, past the Crypton staff members who inclined their heads.

"Bring up backdrop for castle, set lighting to sun and clouds now. But keep the stage dark so that no one can see it." I said, and attached my laptop to the system, and Mai inserted the translucency film and adjusted the weather condition, but like instructed, did not turn it on just yet. I set up a video camera outside the sound control room, and had it pointed at the stage. It was a HD video camera. I wanted to record this moment.

"10... 9... Come on Amoz... 6... 5..." I counted and when I hit zero, I nodded to Mai who turned up the sun and clouds effects, and Piko Utane was there. Prince Utane, standing at the window, staring at the greenery outside. He is dressed in Merihim's princely costume, and he sweeps his cloak aside and folds his arm. So far so good.

Then, there was a knock on the door, and Piko turned around, and Haku Yowane dressed n her maid costume entered, holding a potted plant and closes the door behind her. Haku then proceeds to bow a little.

"Prince, you should not call us by our first names so casually. You are of higher birth… Don't stain your pride…" Haku blushed a little when Piko called her by her first name, and she bowed a little as she walked to the prince, who sighed.

Piko flicked his white hair which had been combed down to cover the side of his face to a side, and he looked at Haku, and bowed down to her level.

"I have looked upon you for a good twelve years already. We grew up together. Okay, what is that you are holding?" Piko said, pointing at the potted plant in Haku's hands.

Haku blushed when the question was asked, but seemed to regain her composure almost at once, and she replied smartly, "It is an Acacia, mi lord."

Haku holds up the potted plant in which there are a bunch of white flowers blooming in it, and she sets it on Piko's end table, and is suddenly embraced by Piko from the back, and Haku's expression takes that of shock, and she struggles.

"W-What are you doing, Prince?" She whispers, and Piko hugs her tighter.

"Acacia… Every flower one gets another has a hidden meaning behind it... And for this… Concealed love?" Piko whispers, his voice still carrying clearly through the music hall clearly, and his embrace tightens with her.

"I love you too, Haku." Piko says, and Haku's hands cover his as well, and she smiles.

"Okay, dim the lights now. Change backdrop to throne room." I said, and Mai nodded, and I hurriedly boot up ACID Pro though I believe that I had more than enough time for this.

Perfection. We must reach perfection.

I counted to zero again and Mai turned on the lighting again, and I turned on the microphone as Piko quarreled with a king. This was a silent scene.

"Crown Prince Piko Utane was effectively removed as Heir Apparent, and was placed in the Western Palace. A palace for princes and princesses who have fallen out of favour. The King actually had hoped, that Piko would come around and marry Royal Blood instead, but having heard that he had insisted on taking the maid, of common blood, Haku Yowane with him, it was the last straw." I said, in a deep rumbling voice, and turned off the microphone, and hurriedly dimmed the lights once more, as we projected a still imagery of the king standing beside a chest of gold and gesturing at it to some guards.

"Switch scene back to Throne room." I said, and Mai nodded, and I counted to ten once more, and prayed for Amoz to hurry up. The lights then went on again. Perfect. Amoz deserves an Oreo.

Piko was seated in his four-frame bed, and folding some clothing and packing them into a chest, his face one of worry and sadness, as he flung his clothing albeit messily, into the chest.

When there was a knock on the door, Piko looked up, a smile on his face.

"Okay, program for the door to open." I said, and Mai nodded, and the door swung open, and Karina walked in, carrying a tray laden with teacups and a teapot along with some bread, and set it on the dresser.

"Anything wrong, mi lord?" Karina asked, bowing a little, and Piko shook his head, and sighed.

"Nothing. Where is Haku?" He asked, and Karina froze for a moment, before she went to the tray and started pouring tea, her hands shaking visibly, the teapot making rattling sounds.

Piko, noticing that, stands up, and goes to her, and stands beside her.

"What is wrong with Haku?" He asked, and she shook her head.

"I- The King warned us not to say!" Karina said, shaking, and Piko grabs her by the shoulders and shakes her.

"Where is she! Tell me what is happening to her! Where is she!" Piko shouts, and Karina looked as if she fell apart, as she lost the strength to hold the teapot and she lets go, and it shatters… The sound travelling across the Music Hall.

"Damn…. That looked like some nice tea." SOUL said, and I almost laughed.

" I… Haku Yowane will be executed at dawn!" Karina knelt down in front of Piko, her head bowed, and his face cried M-U-R-D-E-R. He looks around, and grabs the sword mounted on the wall, and despite Karina trying to stop him, he flings her aside and storms out of the door.

"Mi lord… It is too late… The guards already hold her…" Karina said, trying to hold onto him again, but Piko held up his sword threateningly, and she let go.

"Dim the scene. Prepare surrounding lights around the stage. Orange glow. Flickering. Change scene to prison backdrop." I said quickly, and Mai got about to doing it. Our two vocaloids were watching us work, silent.

I turned on the microphone and spoke into it, "Haku Yowane, having been captured by the King's order, was offered a chance for her to live, by telling Prince Utane that she no longer loves him, and leave the Kingdom. However, she refuses, and was awaiting execution. However, as she cries herself to sleep that night, she was rudely awaken, by loud calls for help."

I turned it off and nodded for Mai to turn on lights.

"Insert command to kill the guards." I said, and Mai nodded, typing at the system, and as Piko clashed with the two guards, he stabbed one in the stomach, and he falls to the ground, crawling a little before he laid there, unmoving. The other got slashed across the face by Piko, and he slumped onto a table, his blood splattering across the walls.

"Haku! Just wait… I'll get you out of here…" Piko said loudly, and grabbed the keys attached to the guard's belt and unlocked the cell door.

"What are you doing! You- You!" Haku said, half crying, the other half trying to be angry at him. Such a foolish man.

As Piko cuts the binds off Haku, she asks, "But why? Why did you come for me? I am of inferior blood!"

"Because I love you…" He replied, placing a hand on the side of her face.

"ACID Pro ready?" Mai said and I grinned.

"Ready."

"Let's roll." He said, with Luka and Miku doing some sort of cheer behind us.

The stage rose, and the same transparent piano was there, and Michelle was already hammering at it, a string of piano chords flooding, then ACID Pro kicked in, unleashing a few beats of bass guitar, and then Zheng Yi clashed the cymbals, and Michelle let loose another torrent of upbeat and intense piano music, with Zheng Yi not letting up, letting loose at the cymbals as well.

"Ok gently ease in the new backdrop. The balcony overlooking the sea." I said, and Mai nodded, turning the knob slowly so the fade-in wasn't too sudden.

"Kabosoi higa kokoro no hashini tomoru… (A slender flame burns at the edge of my heart)" Haku sang, raising her hands slightly, turning on the spot and continuing. Her voice, a melody, and her dancing superb, turning about here and there, her hand gently touching Piko's then they moved away.

"Dakiyosete hoshii tashikamete hoshii… (I want to embrace you, I want you to tell me)" Piko then sang as their hands held for a moment, before they twirled on the spot, and separated once more, and he bowed a little, his hand outstretched to Haku.

"Machigai nado naindato omowasete! (That you don't think this is a mistake)" Haku joined in, and their voices raised, and they danced around each other, singing away.

They continued singing, and I surveyed how the audiences were behaving. Their fingers were involuntarily following the beats of the cymbal or the piano and I nodded approvingly.

"Furetekara modorenaito shiru sorede iino… (If we touch, I know we can never go back and that's just fine)" Haku sang, and she reached her hand out to Piko, who ducked it in a dance move, and they resumed circling each other, Piko's cloak swirling with his movements, Haku's dress swaying.

"Dareyorimo taisetsuna anata! (You are everything in the world to me)" Piko chorused, and his voice blended in perfectly with Haku's. And they sang and twirled about, and I saw that some in the audience were nodding along with the music as well.

"Hikiryosete Magnet no youni… (I am drawn to you like a magnet)" Haku started, and Michelle hammered away at the piano, and I could see her eyes closed, and thoroughly enjoying what she was doing as Zheng Yi hammered away at the drum set as well.

"Tatoe itsuka hanaretemo meguriau! (Even if I left, we would find each other again)" Piko joined in with her singing, and they got closer to each other, and the next line, they sang it together-

"Fureteite modorenakute ii… (I've touched you, I can never go back and that's just fine)" Their voices sounded together, Piko's hand slowly reached to her, and Haku's powerful voice then sounded clearly-

"Sorede iino dareyorimo taisetsuna anata… (You are everything in the world to me)!" Haku's voice went up, and she held it there as the piano and drums still clashed on, and Haku's voice dragged on to make a few more melodies, before the piano just turned into a few simple notes, and it ended.

There was a roar of applause from the audience, and the Crypton Future staff stood up, applauding, and some others followed suit. The Vocaloids were most gracious and all stood up to clap, and I thought I saw Haku blush a little.

"Ease back the prison." I said, and Mai turned the knob back, and the stage turned back to a prison, with torches glowing off the walls.

Piko dropped his sword, and rushed to her, and held her, and after they gazed into the eyes of each other, they kissed.

"Dim it now." I said, and Mai nodded, switching the backdrop to the Prince room after dimming the lights, and prepared the still imagery. I turned on the microphone and too ka deep breath and began narrating.

"Despite Prince Utane's valiant efforts in fending off the guards and attempting to flee the castle with his loved one, Haku Yowane, the guards, enraged by the killing of their fellow comrades, attempt to stop both of them…"

A still image of Piko holding Haku's hand, holding a bloodied sword, running down a corridor, with guards chasing them.

"…And the gates, the only way of fleeing, is bolted and shut, and arrows from the guards…"

Piko was being chased by guards, and with Haku in his hand, when they are about to reach the Prince's door, I nodded for Mai to unleash the arrows from the guards. The guards drew their bows and fired, and Piko threw himself in front of Haku, and the arrows tore through the fabric of his cloak, and blood sputtered out, and Haku gasped, but Piko forces her into his room and bars the door behind him.

"…mortally wounds Prince Utane, and they have retreated to their room." I finished and turned off the microphone.

"So proud of the-" I started and Miku cut me off.

"The ketchup effect. I know."

"Stay with me! Stay with me!" Haku sobbed, touching the place where the "wound" was, fearful, and Piko's bloodied hand caressed her face, leaving traces of blood on her fair skin.

"H-Haku…" Piko gurgled, and he collapsed onto the bed, his face turning whiter and whiter by the second.

The door was beginning to get rammed, and the "BOOM! BOOM!" sounds coming from the door made this couple stand out even more.

"Please… Don't go…" Haku sobbed, and Piko smiled a little.

"I won't…"

"BOOM!"

The door crashed open and the guards swarmed in. With one great yell, Piko grabbed the sword on his bed and rushed at his attackers, and as Haku watched on, a blade buried itself into Piko, and blood spluttered, and Haku let out a scream, more terrible than anything, which sounded across the whole Music Hall, and landed on the potted plant.

"Turn on glowing effect." I said, and did it myself this time though.

The acacia glowed red, and rather brightly, and the scene faded out.

"Prepare imagery of throne room." I said, and Mai nodded.

Turning on the microphone, I spoke into it once more.

"Nothing is known of what happened next that day. A reddish glow emerged from the room where the fighting took place, and there were screams of distraught and fear. The entire castle's occupants were killed in that day. Even the heavily protected King met his end. None was spoken among the masses when Prince Utane took the throne, along with his newlywed, Queen Haku Yowane."

Then the light was turned back on, and Haku dressed in her queenly dress, sitting on Piko's lap, and the Acacia creeped along the castle walls, with some having stains of blood on them.

"Okay. Dim and draw the curtains." I laughed and I hi-fived Zheng Yi, along with our Vocaloids. Of course, the sound crew never goes on the stage and bows as well, hence the term, the unsung heroes.

As the red curtains closed around the entire stage, there was an explosion of clapping and some wolf-whistling, and when Piko, Haku, Karina, Michelle and Zheng Yi came out to bow, some people even stood up to deliver their applause, and Haku's face was bowed, a bright red, and when they all bowed, she was the first to melt away behind the curtains.

"Wow… That was… Good…" I heard SOUL say and I felt my heart lifting, and I walked just like Miku now. A spring in my step, so this time, I had no idea catching up with the enthusiastic Vocaloid with others backstage.

"Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant." I applauded Haku who blushed, and Allen scanned her costume again, and she was back in her signature clothing.

" You may all keep the costumes." I grinned and Haku bowed and murmured something like "Arigato…" while Piko saluted me with his sword which I returned with a salute.

"Well done everybody! I would be in the mood to celebrate now. Who is up for some Pizza downstairs?" I asked loudly, and there was a loud cheering, and Nicole nodded.

"All on Barzini!" She said loudly, and my mouth dropped open slightly but I shrugged.

"Fair enough!" I boomed, my spirits high, and Miku was chatting noisily with Haku, commending her for the scream.

"Pizza hut! Here we come!" I announced to applause from everyone.

Xxx

"One large fish pizza, one large Hawaiian pizza, one large plain cheese pizza, all with stuffed crust. Two large bowls of marshmallows with chocolate upsized. For Vocaloids and humans. One large leek marina pizza." I said, and the cashier nodded, and told us to wait.

"YAY! What fish is it?" SeeU said, and pawed Michelle, excited.

"Tuna. No salmon here." I said, and Luka's smile widened, but SeeU was still joyful.

"Nya! All fish nicey!" She pawed the side of her face.

"Where do you get the money for all these?" Michelle whispered and I leant back.

"I put the tabs on Crypton, under morale booster." And I coughed.

"I see…" Michelle grinned and I winked.

"Nicoleeee! Get some ice cream from Swensens!" I said loudly, and Kaito seemed to drift towards the shop, drooling, and the cashier started backing away, horrified.  
>"That settles it then." I said, flopping into the seat, and covering my eyes with my hands, until I heard someone plopping in beside me.<p>

"Poke!" I heard that familiar voice say, and I saw an object with a green head jabbing me. Of course, I didn't feel anything.

"Aloha Miku…" I said, and her eyes appeared at the gaps in between the fingers covering my eyes.

"HAI!" She waved, and sat there, swinging her legs to and fro, and I sipped from my cup of milo.

Looking around me, I watched the vocaloids giggle among each other, and their human companions roaring with laughter.

Neru was playing with her mobile phone, and Zheng Yi's phone seems to be getting the majority of the spam. Amy and Aki were both drinking from their apple juice packets, and Piko was chatting with Yukina, still in his princely costume. Meiko and Hannah were singing uhhh… Somewhere over the rainbow? Allen and Haku were just looking at all of us, smiling slightly. Karina was… Still at her laptop, with Len sleeping with his head against her shoulder.

"Pizza's here!" about 3 waiters came up and laid the ones for us humans in front of us, and I licked my lips.

"Mine! Where's mine!" Miku said loudly, pouting, and soon later, they appeared on the table, the pizzas for the Vocaloids.

"Okay, let's say it together!" Nicole said loudly and we stared at her.

"Ita…" She started and we all laughed.

"Itadakimasu!" We roared and dug in.

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>I am finally done ._.<strong>

**And ok folks, OC SUBMISSION IS SHUT. SEALED. CLOSED. We got a lot already :D Thanks guys! :D**

**So... Had a wonderful Christmas? I hope you did! Time to go kill some zombies :X Bye guys! Next chapter will be coming soon I think..**.


	8. Chapter 8

I leaned one elbow on the small ledge of the bus window, and rested my chin on the palm of my hand. I was sitting at the back of the bus, in my favourite seat, at the corner. I gazed out of the window, and I was silently exclaiming to myself, how in the world did I even get here! Well you see, I was on the way to East Coast Park, yup told you that West Coast was not popular…together with Kaito and ten other people and their vocaloids. Still don't get what's going on? Let me just start with what happened this morning…

"Nicole!" a muffled voice exclaimed, the door banged another three times, "wake up!"

What is this! I thought to myself, I slid my hands under my pillow and folded it up to cover my ears, "Come on! Wake up!" the voice came again, I turned and pressed my face facedown into the bed, clamping the pillow to my ears harder in an effort to drown out the noise, "Go away…" I mumbled to no one. We finally had two days of break that the school so graciously gave after the music project that wore everyone to the ground, and I intended to sleep it off, maybe have a leisurely jog in the park, read a book, spend some time ice cream hopping with Kaito, and maybe create a new ice cream sundae with pocky and Oreo or randomly harmonize a new song with Kaito. NOT wake up at… I opened one sleepy eye…at 7:00am! The person at the door kept banging the poor piece of wood that I was ready to take pity on the door, save it from the hammering and give the person a piece of my mind, when it suddenly stopped. I sank back into my bed with an appreciation of the silence.

Then a blur of yellow and I turned and found Aki sitting on me. She closed the distance and squealed, "Yay! You're up! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Then Amy tugged the sheets away from me.

"Wha~" I said sleepily as I sat up, "go where…"

"To the beach! Of course! Hurry pack! We've got lots of people to wake up!" Amy said brightly in reply.

"How...how did you two even get in….?" I questioned, still in a half dazed state, I was too messed up to be angry at people yet... Somewhere in the back of my mind I was wondering why the beach…

The two of them promptly turned and looked at someone else standing at the foot of my bed…Kaito…

Clenching my fists, I consciously brought them up to my face, then rubbing my eyes hard, I said calmly, in and almost silent voice, "I'll get ready in 30 minutes." Then turning to face Amy and Aki, "Didn't the both of you say that you had other people to wake up?"

"Well…you se-" Aki continued, and was cut off as Amy covered her mouth and said, "Uh…yes! We'll go now and get Yukina since she's on the same level as us…see you in half an hour…" Then half dragging a bewildered Aki out the door, they left.

"You…" I pointed to Kaito, "…come here…"

He edged closer.

"Closer…" I said.

He moved until he was right next to me, bring my hands up I rested them on his shoulder, he had a positively terrified expression.

I looked down at the bed, my hair falling over my face, then I said menacingly, "Don't…ever...let people into our room before I wake up…again…"

"Okay…okay…" Kaito said hurriedly.

It was then I realised my stance, too aggressive, I must have been freaking him out, controlling myself, I relaxed and said, "I'm sorry…I just wanted to sleep…I'm just so sleepy…" Last night I slept at 2am…and five hours of sleep just doesn't cut it for me. I need at least eight hours or suddenly waking me up like that makes me deadly angry.

His face melted into one of concern, "I shouldn't have opened the door…Nicole-sama is so tired…"

Looking up I sighed in reply, there was no way I was going to take it out on Kaito, "It can't be helped…knowing those two…" swinging my legs off the bed, I yawned and said, "I need to get some hot chocolate to chill first…sorry for scaring you…" I took out my mug, tipped the chocolate powder in and added the precise amount of hot water from my flask. I placed it on the table, resting my chin on the table, I watched the steam rise. Kaito walked over and sat next to me at the table, pulling open the cover of the ice cream tub, he started eating in silence. I raised the mug to my lips and took a sip, "Ahh…" I broke the silence, "…hot chocolate really does wonders…"

"So…Nicole-sama is not moody anymore?" Kaito questioned with the spoon in his mouth.

"Nope! If anything, hot chocolate makes me very happy!" I said, reaching for the bowl of pocky in front of me, I started munching on pocky too, double bliss, then I jumped up.

"Come on! We need to pack! Why are we even going to the beach in the first place…" Shrugging he said, "I dunno…they just barged in the moment I opened the door…they said you have to pack for overnight though…"

I dumped some beach appropriate clothes in my backpack, threw in swim ware as an after thought and shoved my laptop and chargers in, this somehow reminded me of just a week ago where I seemed to be doing the exact same thing. Glancing over my shoulder I saw that Kaito had changed into a shirt and some berms, and a wide straw hat sat on his head, he was wheeling his bike and carrying a backpack like me, out of the room. "Not bad…" I said, nodding in approval, I chucked the box of pocky in my pocket and hitched my backpack higher over my shoulder. As I walked to the lift landing, I spotted Yukina and Piko tumbling into the hall with their things, as Amy and Aki hopped along behind. We handed our bags to the porter at the corner who would take our bags down as we proceeded to wake everyone else up.

I yawned again as we piled into the lift.

"Still sleepy huh…" Yukina said, Piko was standing next to her with his head buried in a book.

"Yup…" I yawned again, thanking the inventor of hot chocolate for soothing my bad mood, though I was still sleepy, "Have a pocky?" I offered.

The lift doors slid open, turning the corner, we came face to face with Barzini's door. Amy knocked on the door three times, no answer. Duh, I thought, this was an ungodly hour. She was going to try again, when the door swung open, and her fist collided with Barzini's sleepy face, "Ow~! What was that for?"

"I am so sorry~!" Amy exclaimed as she brought the palms of both her hands together.

"It's ok…no damage done…" Barzini said, his hair was seriously messed up, probably just woke up.

"Can we get a move on here!" I said, I finally was getting into the going to the beach mood.

"Someone's in a good mood…" Barzini commented, then he asked, "Well…anyway…where are we going so early in the morning?"

"To the beach! And we are staying over at a chalet!" Aki quipped.

"I see…ok…lemme go wake up Miku…" he replied, running his fingers through his hair and walking back inside.

"Chalet?" I questioned.

"Yup, my uncle owns a beach house...and he said that I could use it anytime..." Yukina turned to me and answered, a pocky sticking out at the corner of her mouth.

"That's cool!" I exclaimed, then from inside Barzini's room.

"Beach~!" Miku squealed so loud you could hear from the outside.

That was followed by a barrage of noises, "BAM…shick…Boom!...crash…Hurry!...my leek!...do you need those!...I have to have my cola!...shove...zip…"

"Done~!" Miku sang, as she hopped out of the room, wearing a turquoise coloured sundress and holding a can of leek cola, she was pulling along her trolley bag.

Then Barzini appeared slowly, lugging a duffle bag out of the room.

"Ok…I'm here…what now?" he puffed.

"Now…hand your bags over there…" Yukina said, pointing to the porter behind, the she continued, "then we go there…" pointing another finger to room number six which was a little down the hallway.

"Michelle too huh?" Barzini commented.

"Yup! We are going to get everyone in our group!" Amy said excitedly.

She knocked on the door three times and a voice floated out, "Password? Meow…"

"Um…" then Amy turned to us and whispered, "What's the password?"

I sighed, "Make way…" I worked my way till I was standing in front of the door. Then I scratched the door once and said, "Nyan~!"

A voice, I think it was Michelle, giggled a little before opening the door, "How did you know?"

"It was something I used to do too…so I thought maybe…" I trailed off in answer.

"You two are sure up early though!" Barzini said.

"Yup! SeeU and I were going to get some cereal and milk for breakfast…so…what's up?" Michelle asked.

"We are going to the beach and staying over~!" Miku sang, reaching a high pitch by the end of the phrase.

"Ooo…the beach! Sounds great!" then she turned to SeeU, "Beach?"

"Nyan~! Yessu!" SeeU purred back.

"Great! So come find us at the lobby when you're done packing! Cause time's a ticking and we are already behind schedule!" Amy said, as she ushered all of us ready ones back into the waiting lift.

"Hai! Fourth floor here we come!" Aki exclaimed as she pressed the button.

The lift doors opened and we were greeted by Mai and Luka.

Looking up from his game, Mai commented, "Oh it's you guys…"

Pointing an accusing finger at Mai, Amy exclaimed, "EH~! Don't oh it's you guys me!" Then dragging him by the wrist she pulled him to his room door, then turning him around so that his back was against it she said, "Well! We are going to the beach! And you have to come! So pack for two days and see you downstairs!" The unexpectedness of this situation that was thrust upon him caused him to slide down as he sat down on the floor, Luka poked Mai and said, "If you want to go you have to pack…" Then she opened the door and walked in.

We walked a little further, and Amy knocked on the door again, I was wondering how she even knew where everyone was…

A sleepy Neru opened the door, "Nani..." she mumbled rubbing her eyes, a sleepy Neru was so cute I thought to myself.

Then looking up she saw all of us at her door, "It's you guys... lemme go wake up Zhengyi..." we didnt even say anything when, following that she shut the door.

An exclamation floated out from the room, followed by the sound of the sheathing of a sword.

Then Zhengyi's voice, "Ok ok..." opening the door he ran this hand through his hair, seemingly to mess it up more than neatening it to me.

"So what's up..." his tone a little grouchy, I reminded myself that I should get him to try the hot chocolate therapy. All not morning people.

"Well soldier! We are marching for the beach!" Barzini said from behind then he put his hand up in a salute.

"Heh~!" he started, "at this hour? But I don-" he was promptly cut off with a blade to his neck.

Starting nervously in a poor attempt to tease he said, "...ah! I see Neru wants to g-"

"No...o...I don't," Neru said angrily in reply, then louder in a shout, "Hmph! I'm going to get Kiki!"

Hearing this Zhengyi's face turned white, "Ok! Ok! No more jokes! We'll go to the beach!" I wondered who Kiki was...a girlfriend?

Just as the door was closing Amy called out, "Remember to pack for two days! See you both at the lift lobby!"

We were walking and taking the lift together when I noticed that Kaito was talking to Miku in hushed voices and with Miku stealing glances at me and Kaito shaking his head, I caught Kaito in a questioning glance and raised one eyebrow, he just looked down, something was definitely up, but I didn't have the chance to ask when we reached the next person we were going to give a wake up call to.

"Yo!" Karina greeted, she leaned on the door frame as Len follow suit and leaned on the other side, "So...what's going on with the crowd at the door?"

"Well you see we are going to the beach for a stay over during this break with our music project group..." I explained.

Karina stared, then blinked, "Ok! I'll pack!"

"Great! See you at the lobby then!" Amy said excitedly, I think she was finally glad for the enthusiasm.

We walked along further to down the hall towards the boy's side of the dorms, then Amy rapped on the door for the sixth time this morning.

A rustling sound was heard then the door opened and we were greeted with a shock of red hair peering around the corner, shaking the fringe out of his eyes Allen looked up and said, "Um...what are you guys doing outside my room?" then Haku popped out her head too and rested her chin on Allen's head.

"We!" Amy said while gesturing animatedly, "are going to the beach!

"Andd! We are staying over! At Yukina's place!" Aki added while jumping and peering over Amy's shoulder.

"Um...ok...sounds nice..." then he just stared at us.

"Uh...Allen...that means you have to hurry and pack now..." I said.

"Eh! So you were inviting me!" Allen said in somewhat of a shock.

I wanted to face palm at that moment when Barzini said, "Dude, of course! Now hurry pack! See you and Haku downstairs."

"Um...oh yea! Ok!" Allen said in reply. The door shut.

"Only Amoz, Rin, Hannah and Meiko left right?" I asked, no one in particular.

"Yup...at the rate we are going...I think we will be done gathering everyone by 9am..." Piko said, still buried in his book.

Doing some calculations in my head, "EH~! So you think it's going to take us 45mins to wake up those four?"

Looking up from his book he cocked his head to one side and replied, "Well to be precise, it will take us 30mins to wake those four up and another 15mins to gather everyone in the lobby."

"But! But! It only took us less than ten minutes each for the rest..."

"Do you really think those four will be up and ready...probably one will be drunk, one will be trying to get the drunk one sober, and two will be arguing...possibly an all out war..." Piko replied, shutting the book and ticking off each of his points with his fingers.

"WAR! Did someone say that?" Barzini exclaimed looking around.

Then a loud crash was heard as we stepped out of the lift on level two.

Nodding Piko said, "Well there you go...probability of all out war...99.9%..."

"Get back here!" Rin said charging after Amoz.

They were gone in a blink round the corner, with Amoz almost crashing into Kaito who was apparently done with his discussion with Miku.

"Um...maybe we can go get Hannah first..." Amy trailed off slightly stunned by what she saw, I don't think she was the only one.

We were one door away from Hannah's room, when her room door swung open with a bang.

"Sa~ke~!" a desperate Meiko cried out as she wobbly got to her feet. Apparently to get sake in school, you need to wake up pretty early and smuggle it in. Then I thought wasn't she underage to get alcohol in the first place? I mean Kaito's 17 and I can't imagine Meiko much older…so…

"Wait!" then Hannah charged out of the room, breaking my train of thought and tackled Meiko to the ground. Still in a locked position with Meiko, Hannah looked up and said, "Wassup guys?" judging from the tone of her voice, it seemed that this was a common occurrence…tackling your vocaloid.

Miku was looking curiously, wondering about how it feels being tackled? Kaito was looked like he wanted to try tackling someone. Barzini mumbled something like, "…need to find a way to keep Meiko off sake…"

Cutting into my thoughts Amy answered, "Well you see…we are planning a two day beach outing!"

"So pack!" Aki continued.

"Sure…but I just need someone to restrain Meiko so she doesn't go off on a sake rampage…" Hannah looked up at us.

I whispered to Kaito, "You were interested in tackling? Now's your chance…"

"Really?" he whispered back. I nodded.

Reliving Hannah of her position Kaito assumed the tackling pose. Not bad I thought to myself.

There was the sound so packing coming from the room when Hannah poked her head out and said, "I need someone to help me pack Meiko's stuff…"

"We'll help!" Aki quipped, pulling Miku along by the hand, as they disappeared into the room Miku waved a little to Barzini.

Meiko seemed to have passed out so I was just going to tell Kaito to get up from the floor, when Amoz shouted.

"MOVE! GUYS! MOVE NOW!" making frantic hand actions. A chugging sound was heard before a yellow steamroller with Rin in it's seat came hurtling down the hallway, believe it or not the hallway was actually wide enough to accommodate it, it was as if the architect had intended it to be this way. I was thinking don't tell me they made it made it this way…and they put Meiko on second floor…easy access to the front door…it makes you think that the people at crypton wanted it to be like this. Anyway back to the story, all of us had jumped into Hannah's room which reeked of alcohol, when Barzini opened the door and shouted, "You know you can't get run over by it right!"

"Yes! But trying standing in front of it and not moving!" Amoz called back, then a more worried sound came through, "UH~! GUYS~! A LITTLE HELP HERE!" Amoz had apparently reached the end of the hallway.

Piko suddenly looked up from rummaging in his bag and said, "Rin! Catch!" and an orange few over our heads to the vocaloids.

"Thanks~!" Rin hopped off the steamroller, munching on her orange and I think we all let out a sigh of relief. She just went though all that for some oranges. Then it struck me how did Rin even get the steamroller in the first place! I mean Echo Lite didn't even carry bicycles and it carried steamrollers?

"So whaccha guys up to?" Rin questioned casually.

"Well…" Yukina began nervously, "…we are having a beach stay over and we were wondering if you wanted to come along?"

Tossing up her orange, "Sure!"

"I did not agree!" Amoz came running down the hallway.

Sticking out her tongue Rin retorted, "Too bad! You have to!"

"We're done!" Miku called out, "what did we miss?"

Then looking down Aki saw that we were all crowding around Hannah's door, "What are you all doing?"

Then I said, "Let's just say you girls missed a whole lot of stuff…"

"Amoz! Hurry and pack!" Rin called out from her room.

Amoz just scowled and hurried off.

Dusting her hands off, Amy said happily, "Looks like we are done! Let's wait for them at the lobby!" Nothing much really makes her unhappy I thought.

The group now with Hannah and Meiko, who was being helped by Kaito, finally reached the lobby, I checked my watch and true enough it was 15minutes to 9am.

I looked around and spotted Michelle and SeeU with a packet of milk each, in a corner were Allen and Haku. Mai was furiously punching buttons on his PSP, Luka was peering at the screen over his shoulder while hugging her tuna soft toy. Zhengyi…well he looked a lot better than this morning, though he was standing a distance away from Neru who was practicing some routine with her katana. Karina was talking to Len while he was munching on some banana chips.

Amy used both her arms to wave like she was directing an airplane and finally got everyone's attention, "Now that everyone is here! Let's just wait for Amoz and Rin so that we can move together as a group."

Just as she said that the lift doors pingged open and an out of breath Amoz stepped out with a bouncy Rin tossing an orange, tagging behind.

Nodding Amy gestured for them to join the group and she continued, "Well…we are going to stay at Yukina's family beach house! And we are just going to have fun! Yup! Ok I think we can go now!"

Xxx

That's how I ended up on a bus heading to East Coast park, it was quite some distance away from our school which was somewhere in the central regions so it would take a 30minute ride or so, I took the chance to ask Kaito about this morning.

"So…what were you and Miku talking about this morning?"

"No-nothing…" he said, then he looked away and down towards the floor.

That nothing definitely meant something…I poked him and said, "Spill…"

He sighed, "Well…Miku was telling me about how Nicole-sama was, I quote, 'She is in an organization sworn to destroy all leek.' And I quote again, 'She's an extremely dangerous. She's been affiliated with the Anti-Oranges terror organization, Viva La Meat group, Anti-Banana terror group.' And that Barzini-sama might…might…"

He looked so serious I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry, I ended up in some sort of grimace, obviously this was planted into Miku's head by Barzini-san…so…should I play along or not? That was the question now.

Kaito was looking expectantly at me as if waiting for an answer but instead of giving him one I threw him another question, "So…do you believe Miku?"

"Well…" he started in a contemplative voice, "…if I believe Miku then Nicole-sama really is going to destroy all leek, oranges and banana!...but if I don't and it's true then…but what if it's not…" he was positively confused by the end of that statement, and by then I decided to play along.

I pretended to be hurt, "You…believe Miku…" then I sighed, "…actually I was in all those organizations…" I watched as Kaito's eyes widened, "…but…I've since quit…" then lowering my voice, "…and I think Barzini's the one who took over my place…" then to play it up some more, I shook my head sadly, "…and from what I've heard…he's with the Melt-All-Ice-Cream faction too…" I heard Kaito gasp, then continuing I said, "…he's trying to turn you against me…"

I could see the gears turning in Kaito's head processing the information, then he asked in a whisper, "But…Barzini-sama…is such a nice guy…and destroying leek…Miku will be devastated…"

I nodded quietly, when Amy broke the silence, "Next stop! Come on people get ready!"

Ironically, the stop we eventually stopped at was right outside my house, I said loudly, "Um…guys…you dropped a stop too early. Anyway, how about you go ahead first then I'll come find you…it's a walking distance anyway…" then I pointed towards my house, "if you don't mind I'd like to grab my bike from my house and meet you guys there…" and check on my parents I added to myself mentally.

"Yep sure!" Karina answered for the rest. Waving bye and see you later, Kaito and I headed off to my house.

Xxx

I pulled out my house keys and let myself in wheeling out my bike from the store room, I checked the fridge and saw that my parents did a good job stocking things up.

"Was Nicole in this house since you were created?" Kaito questioned suddenly.

I laughed a little and said, "Well…no…we shifted to a bigger place when I was born…What about you?"

"Eh…well I was um…sleeping I guess…till I was supposed to be paired with you…and you were holding ice cream when you walked into the interview room remember…so that made me feel that I liked you a lot…"

So it really was the ice cream, I thought, I had always wondered if it was because of that, Kaito must have sensed the change of mood in the room when he added, "I also think that Nicole-sama's harmonies during the interview was also lovely…though the ice cream was a big perk…" Then he added a small smile at the end of that sentence, floated off to ice cream haven dreamland?

I smiled back, "Thanks! Come on…I think we better go now."

Mounting our bikes we cycled along a path that was already familiar to both of us and made our way to the beach, I reached with one hand for my phone and rang Yukina.

"So where's the beach house?" I questioned on the phone, narrowly missing a lamp post.

"Um…Nicole I think you better get here fast…we kinda got lost…" Yukina said in reply.

"What?" I exclaimed, almost swerving into Kaito, I press my brakes and stop midway in the underpass we had just entered, motioning to Kaito to wait, "You guys got lost? But don't you have a beach house there…" I trailed off.

"Well…yes but it was newly built so I've never been there and I think Amy kinda got the directions wrong…Barzini said that you know the area well…" She was sounding a little desperate now, and at the mention of Barzini, I've yet to ask him when I became a spy.

"Ok…tell me the major landmarks around you." I said.

"Um…well there's some sort of ice cream stand and some shop houses…" she started.

I think they were somewhere near my work place. "Ok…is there some building with a striped roof? Somewhere at your left…"

"Ah…yes…I think I see it…" Yukina answered.

"Ok…go there and wait for me there…" I told her.

I turned to Kaito and said, "They are at the bike rental shop where I work at."

"All the way there?" he exclaimed.

"Uh huh…"

Xxx

We finally reached the shop, though we took a detour when Kaito and I wanted some ice cream.

I raised my hand in greeting, "Okay…so where's the beach house?"

"Um…I think uncle said its somewhere near Big splash…"

Big splash…ohh…that beach house! I was wondering whose it was for a long time now. Nodding I said, "I think I know where. Let's go…" then I stopped in mid sentence, "you guys need bikes…big splash is too far…"

Kicking down my bike stand, I ran to my work place, I saw that my friend Charlene was at the counter.

"Yo! Fix us up with…um…ten bikes and has the stock for the vocaloid bicycles come in yet?" I asked.

"Yup we ordered it after you brought Kaito along to work remember, so yes they are in already." She answered as gestured for my party to go pick out their bikes.

Hands on my hips I asked, "Everyone knows how to ride right?" I was answered by affirmative nods. "Great! So just pick one and wheel it out."

"Hey…Nicole help me with the vocaloid bikes!" Charlene called from the storeroom.

"Yup…ok!" I hurried to the backroom. I wheeled out the bikes two by two, vocaloid bikes were touch activated just like the fridges back in our dorms, so humans could touch them too.

As all the vocaloids went about choosing the colour of bike that they wanted, except Kaito of course, I was out settling the rental rates, we settled on renting the bikes for the whole day.

Apparently rental rates for vocaloid bikes were twice the price of regular ones. Once that was settled, I took the led and we were off finally! I was thankful that no one brought excessive luggage, so that everything could fit with some tying and some string.

"So…how big is the house did your uncle tell you?" I asked Yukina.

"Um…well…he said it'll be enough for all of us…"

Mai cycled up and said, "You sure! It's a lot of people…" I turned and looked at him and he single handedly playing his game and cycling?

"Well~so long as there is sake~!" Meiko hummed, she was swerving dangerously but seemingly aware of her surroundings.

"Leek! Charge!" Miku was charging toward the front pointing with her leek like it was a lance, close behind was Barzini racing behind her, definitely influenced by the gHeek, I thought.

Seeing that Miku was doing something sword like with her leek, Rin joined in pedaling as fast as she can to catch up with Miku in the front, she was holding her oranges like a grenade?

"Make way! Make way!" Rin exclaimed, holding her orange like she was going to throw it.

"I'm going to join in!" Len quipped from Karina's side, he pulled out his banana, then pretending that it was a gun, he pulled the 'trigger'.

"Ooo! Sounds fun!" Aki then took out a couple of apples and started aiming.

"This is so childish…"Neru said, looking miffed, though honestly I could see that her hands were itching to join the…um… bicycle food war?

Lingering back a little, I cycled along side Neru and asked, "So…who's Kiki from this morning?" I saw Zhengyi pale a little at this question.

Flipping her ponytail over her shoulder she answered in a matter-of-fact voice, "Kiki is the spider that I made friends with in my room."

Zhengyi scoffed and said, "S-spider! It's a tarantula I tell you!"

"I see…" I answered injecting a tinge of sympathy into my voice, fear of spiders, I didn't really like creepy crawlies myself.

"Don't you tell anyone!" Zhengyi told me.

Then seeing a leek flying towards me I instinctively ducked and it smacked Neru on the shoulder instead, "That's it!" she shouted, then she joined in dangerously with her katana.

I could see that Kaito was doing his best defending the assaults using combined ice cream tub covers, somewhere along SeeU had joined in, I was seeing fish fly…salmon fly to be precise. Piko was somehow miraculously dodging all the fly food assaults and Haku was trying to stay as close to Allen as possible, using him as a shield maybe? Luka was trying to be sensible and not waste food so she smartly followed behind Piko.

"Eh~! All you chibis stop! Stop!" Meiko exclaimed suddenly brandishing her sake bottle threatening to bonk anyone on the head should they continue.

"Good thing too" Hannah continued for her vocaloid, "we reached!"

All of us looked up at the three story house built by the beach in front of us.

Braking next to Yukina I said, "Whoa…this is nice…"

Parking our bikes neatly in a row we entered the house.

Xxx

Miku and Rin raced to the top floor calling down from the banisters, "That room is mine!"

"I'm taking the last room on top floor!" Yukina announced.

I pointed to the room in the right corner of on the second floor, "Kaito and I will take that one!"

Pointing to the room next to mine, Karina claimed it as hers, next to her room was Michelle's and next to Michelle's was Amy. Thus on first floor was Allen, Mai, Zhengyi and Hannah.

Dumping all our bags in our respective rooms, I closed the door behind me.

The room was quaint and cosy, with a pull out bed to accommodate two per room, I later found out that each room was decorated differently with a different theme.

"So…what do you want to do?" I asked Kaito rummaging around in my backpack for some sunscreen.

"I was think was could maybe go to our breakwater…" he suggested, using the hat to fan himself. He used the word 'our', well it did used to be mine till I shared it with him.

I was about to say that that was a great idea when, Amy called out, "Swimming time~!" I opened the door to see her hopping out of her room in a two piece swim suit and Aki was wearing an orange striped one-piece swimsuit.

"Or we could just go swimming…" Kaito said, backtracking.

I nodded, "We can always go to our breakwater, after…maybe at night for a change…"

I heard foot steps thundering on the wooden floor coming straight for my room.

"Come on! Change already!" Miku poked her head round the door.

Using my hand to shoo her away, "Ok! Ok! Getting to it boss!"

I opened the door, and gestured to Kaito, "Wait out side."

"Eh! Okay…"

I quickly slipped my swimsuit under my sundress then I opened the door for Kaito to get in and change while I waited outside. He came out…topless…wearing the dark blue swimming shorts I bought for him awhile back, I was staring…hey! I'm a girl ok? Then I unceremoniously closed the door on him and said, "Put a shirt on will you! And lose the scarf!" I lean back against the door, waiting for my face to cool down.

"Too hot for you?" Karina smirked leaning against the door frame.

I stuck out my tongue and said, "Che…talk about yourself when your dear Len comes out…"

True enough, she had just about the same reaction as me.

The door knocked behind me, "Nicole-sama! Can I come out now?"

"Yup ok!" I pulled open the door.

He took one look at my face and said, "…you are blushing…"

"EH~! I was not!" I said looking away, I pointed out the window, "Look! Ice cream stand!" as he turned to look, I raced down the stairs, he must have learnt that term from all the anime we watched together I thought, then shook my head vigorously. No way! Don't go there Nicole!

"…Nicole-sama kawaii!" Kaito said as he easily caught up to me.

"Ok…ok…shh…" I shushed him, I didn't need the whole world to know what my vocaloid thought of me.

Too late…"Ehh! Nicole-sama kawaii!" Barzini came up behind me and did a poor imitation of Kaito.

Then Miku came down from the second level with SeeU and Michelle, Miku was in a cyan striped halter bikini and she had tied a turquoise wrap skirt around her waist, and at her left ear was a huge sunflower and she was holding a huge beach ball, SeeU was well dressed in an orange one piece which sported a lot of frills but some how suited her in the end. Miku pointed an accusing finger at Barzini and said, "I'm cuter!" Then pulling out a leek from no where, she threw one at Barzini, putting his hands up, he said, "Yes! Yes! Miku is the no.1 in cuteness!"

"Did someone say cute?" Rin leaned over the third floor banister. Rin was wearing a two piece, black with orange pokka dots, which looked very her and somehow managed to match Lens swim gear too.

"But everyone knows that you aren't cute…bleh!" Amoz stuck his head out and commented to Rin, before racing down the stairs and out the door, putting on his shades at the same time.

"What~!" Rin scrambled off after him, I can't help thinking that Amoz is just going to get into trouble for that. Len seeing his sister hurrying off, followed behind with Karina.

Michelle was left standing with SeeU, when SeeU exclaimed in an after thought, "Nyan! Michelle-sama, SeeU cute?" then she cocked her head to one side and twitched her ears.

"Eto…" Michelle said, SeeU started looking worried when Michelle said, "Of course! Let's go!"

As they left, Luka came out her room in a one piece halter black dress-like swim suit which was bare back, contrasting with her hair colour she look really good in it. She just headed straight for the door with Mai tagging along behind, still stuck on his gaming devise.

Let's see…only Yukina and Piko, Allen and Haku and Hannah and Meiko left.

Piko and Yukina came down from third floor next, Yukina then left for the kitchen, sounds like she was looking for some snacks. Piko had changed into some berms and a tee, and he was holding a book, just waiting for Yukina to get ready I guess.

"Ok! I think we can go n-" Yukina started, then the door to Hannah's room swung open, causing Yukina to almost drop the bowl of snacks.

Meiko stepped out of the room in a red one piece which was haltered and crisscrossed at the back, holding the sake bottle high above her head she said, "OH HO~! Swimming!" then she pointed to all of us in turn with her sake bottle, "All you chibis! Don't just stand there! Let's go!" Then she dragged Piko and Miku who were standing the nearest to her out by the hand, Yukina hurried behind balancing her bowl of snacks and Hannah just staggered out of the room.

"What just happened?" Kaito asked still in a daze.

Hannah sighed and said, "Well…Meiko would only go if I gave her some sake…so…" she sighed again.

"You gave her sake?" Barzini exclaimed, then he mumbled, "Should have switched it for tea…"

"Unless…you can make tea smell like sake…it's not going to work…" Hannah trailed off, "Well I better go off…seeing the situation…"

We all turned to look out the door, Piko was being chased by Meiko who was dragging Miku along and Yukina was trying to get Meiko off her vocaloid. It looked like Piko was being herded towards the sea.

As Hannah left, I said to Barzini, "Not going to save your Miku?"

Barzini turned to me and said, "Haku…we should get Haku first…"

"Hmmhm…" I walked over and knocked at their door.

The door opened a fraction, and Haku peeked out, "You coming?" I asked.

"Um…I don't know if I should wear this…" Haku mumbled.

Seriously you'd think that she had so much confidence just yesterday, "Oh…just come out will ya! I'm sure you look great!"

Haku slowly stepped out of the room, she was wearing a white bikini with purple ribbons at the shoulder and a soft lilac short skirt for the bottom. She looked at us shyly. I walked up to her and said, "All that's missing is…" then I walked to the dinning table's center piece and plucked a purple lily and stuck it in her hair, "…there! That's pretty! Now let's go!"

Over my shoulder I saw Barzini trying to get Allen to talk and so the five of us were the last to join the party.

Xxx

Stepping out into the sun I saw that Amy and Aki had set up some umbrellas and deck chairs, I just headed for one and sat down when a volleyball came hurtling towards me. I stuck my hands out and pushed it out of the way just as it was going to bonk me on the head. Kaito bent and picked it up, looking around for it's owner. Seeing that Kaito could pick it up meant that it belonged to someone with a vocaloid.

"Sorry! Pass it back here will ya!" I turned and shaded my eyes from the glare of the sun, I saw a red haired girl waving to me. Kaito tossed the ball back and a black haired guy with silver bangs caught it single handedly. "Thanks!" the girl called back. Heh…that meant the guy was her vocaloid…I wonder what major.

"Yo!" Miku waved, "You coming?"

"Un…" Kaito nodded, "Nicole, coming?"

"Why don't you go first?" I told him, then gesturing towards the red haired girl, "I wanna talk to them for a while."

"Okay…"

Xxx

I walked up to the girl and saw that she was playing volleyball with her vocaloid and two other people another girl, which was her…um…look a like? I rubbed my eyes…they certainly look the same and the guy standing on the opposite side of the net mirrored the guy who caught the ball just that he didn't have silver bangs. Was I seeing double?

Then noticing me, the vocaloid with the silver bangs walked up to me and flicked me on my forehead. I flinched, and said, "What wa-" when I was interrupted, with an exclamation as he leaned into my face, "Heh…so you do react!" Then he stalked off.

"Yo! Thanks for returning our ball! I'm Garcia!" then she stuck out her hand, her hair framing her face perfectly.

"Nicole and I think you saw Kaito back there," I said back, shaking her hand.

Then she continued, pointing to the guy who just flicked me, "That's Nori he's eighteen…" then pointing to her double, "that's Marcia…" then looking at my expression, she added, "we're twins…and next to her is Haru…who is Nori's second oldest brother." I was thinking that is some family tree…

Taking a closer look I saw that Garcia had a small ponytail on the right while Marcia's one was on the left.

Then I asked, "So…um…are Nori and Haru twins too?"

Shaking her head she said, "Nope they are two years apart actually…"

"Heh…but they look so alike…but their dressing…"I trailed off.

She smiled at that comment, you see that's because, Haru was wearing a light blue worker beret and white scientist coat thrown over a light blue T-shirt and who wears jeans and white sneakers to the beach! Going for the scientist look, I wondered. While Nori on the other hand was wearing more beach appropriate clothing he was wearing a sleeveless shirt with some shorts, a silver cross hung from his neck and he was wearing black flip flops.

As I was assessing their clothing Haru called, "Are you coming! I have to finish this experiment so that I can get back to the lab!"

"He really is a scientist…" I asked my eyes wide.

Garcia shot a glance at him and said, "Yes yes coming!" then turning to me she nodded said, "Mhmm…we are only here…because Haru wants to know something about the elasticity of volleyballs…for some weird experiment of his…he insisted on the beach… " then she turned and went back to her game.

"Huhh…" I breathed out.

Xxx

Leaving them to their game I walked back to where our swimming party was and saw that it had broke into… a water gun fight.

"Come on!" Amy said and dragged me into the foray pushing a water blaster gun, or at least that's what the label said.

"Hoho~!" Len exclaimed before twirling his double pistols about his finger and aiming a jet of water at Rin, who was sitting on Amoz's shoulders.

Pounding her fists Rin squealed, "Amoz turn around!" She was holding a huge plastic water gun and unloaded everything on Len. Then a bolt of water hit me at the back of my neck, "Look alive, Nicole!" Barzini shouted, with Miku on his shoulders, swinging her leek looking gun around randomly shooting.

"I. Am. Alive!" I shouted back in response shooting a jet of water in his direction punctuating every word.

Then suddenly Kaito came up behind Barzini and Miku and unloaded a huge bucket of seawater on them. Then Kaito came over a gave me a high five, "Nice one!" I said. Then he took out his ice cream cover shield, just in time as an apple looking water bomb came our way.

"…15 degrees to the left…" someone mumbled behind me, I turned a saw Piko instructing Yukina, from a book which angle is the best to shoot from. They were aiming for Mai.

Hitting Mai on the leg he turned around and aimed his gun with game-like precision straight at Yukina.

"Quick! Over there!" I said to Kaito covering for Yukina.

"Thanks!" she said.

Nodding I said to her, "Let's move…"

The battle raged on, Neru was using her katana to slice anyone's water bomb before they hit her, Zhengyi had teamed up with Mai and they were on all out attack against us. At the other corner, it was Karina and Amoz battling Barzini and Miku. SeeU and Luka…well they were looking into the ocean to see if they could find any fish, and cause they were already halfway in the water nobody really came to bother them. Aki was throwing water bombs at everyone. Amy was randomly shooting not really caring if it hit anyone or not. Allen and Haku were trying to stay out of this by harmlessly collecting seashells…and the Kagamine twin were… wait…they were burying a sleeping Hannah in the sand!

Then out of nowhere a sake bottle came flying, and landed in the sand next to us. Then the owner of the bottle came along, "WHY IS MY SAKE TEA?"

This game just got a whole lot more dangerous.

Then Meiko took out two sonic water blasters, "WHO?" she pointed her guns at us.

"Um…not us!" I hurriedly replied, not wanting to get a good soaking when I was already half drenched, then I pointed to Amy.

She switched her attention to Amy who in turn squealed, "EH~! Over there!"

Waving their hands frantically, Mai and Zhengyi pointed over to Karina and Amoz.

Which made Karina point to SeeU and Luka and Amoz point to the Kagamine twins.

"MAKE UP YOUR MIND!" Meiko shouted, at that all fingers pointed to Barzini and Miku, who were trying to act as nonchalant (innocent?) as possible. Then in a flash, Meiko aimed and fired, completely drenching both of them in water. Then she stalked off to go find more real sake.

"Thanks a lot guys…" a drenched Barzini mumbled, helping a dripping Miku get off his shoulders.

"You're welcome!" Aki quipped, Barzini shot a look at Amy, when she mouthed back, "she's eleven!"

At that point Hannah opened her eyes and said to Barzini, "Told you not to do that!" Then realizing that she was half buried in sand, "Who?" then turning her head she saw the two culprits giggling.

Then someone poked me, "We should go get lunch?" Yukina asked.

Nodding I raised my voice and said, "Lunch people! Where?"

"Pizza! Leek pizza!" Miku chirped, from where she was squeezing the water out from her hair.

"Eh~! We just had that!" Zhengyi said, then he pointed to Mac Donald's just down the beach, "How about that?"

Nods went all around so it was decided.

"How about a few of us go take orders and do a take-a-way?" Mai suggested.

"Picnic!" Michelle said, with SeeU purring in agreement.

"Ok! Picnic then!" I said, "I don't mind going…who else wants to help?"

Then Allen shyly put up his hand at the corner. "I don't mind…"

"Awesome! Thanks! Um…I think just one more person…"

"Me! Then!" Amy's hand shot up.

"Okey…so how about everyone write down their orders now…" I said, passing out paper.

Xxx

Half an hour later…the three of us and our vocaloids reached the golden arches.

"Ice cream?" Kaito turned to me, hopeful. We always came to Macs to get soft ice cream dipped in chocolate.

"Later…" then looking his crestfallen expression, "…let's get these orders first…"

"You really like ice cream don't you!" Amy asked Kaito.

"Yup! It's the best thing in the world!" he proclaimed.

We reached the counter and placed our lengthy order, when a loud crash sounded from the kitchen behind the counter, "What was that?" I said, trying to peer through the silver cooking equipment to see what was going on.

I felt someone tap me on the shoulder, "Yo! You're here for lunch too!" Garcia said to me as I turned around, a party popper popped in my face…Nori…

"Yup and Hi!" I said shaking out the confetti that landed on my hair, then looking at the bewildered look on my companion's faces I did a quick introduction.

"So…" I ventured, "any idea what happened?"

Then someone else replied, shaking her head, "It's probably my baka vocaloid."

It was Marcia. I did introductions for the second time.

"Baka vocaloid?" Allen asked.

"Mhm…look…" Marcia answered with a nod in the direction of the crashing sound.

Out stumbled Haru from the kitchen, "Yo!" he exclaimed in greeting as he tried to climb over the counter.

"Why didn't you just use the front door?" Aki asked brightly. Haku nodded silently in agreement to that sentence.

The twenty year old looked down at the eleven year old vocaloid. "That's cause that would be boring!"

"Ooo!" Aki squealed, then she turned to Amy and whispered, "I wanna try that some day…"

"Huhh…" I commented skeptically.

The girl at the counter came back to tell us that our order would take some time, well it was an order for 22 people.

I turned and leaned on the counter, then I asked, "So what are you guys going to do next?"

"Well! We were going to participate in this!" Garcia said, as she pushed a flier in my face.

"Build the greatest sandcastle ever…" I started, as I read it out loud.

"Tools provided…registration starts at 1pm…competition starts at 2pm…participants given three hours to build…" then following Nori's finger down, I read, "…grand prize…an all-you-can-eat steamboat…"

"Sounds great!" Amy said excitedly, it made me think that she probably wanted to participate as well.

Marcia then said, "They can't participate anyway…"

"Why not?" Kaito asked.

Haru then grabbed a flier from his pocket, pulled out a magnifying glass from a tool kit that somehow was hidden and managed to magically appear…well now. Holding the magnifier at the right corner of the paper, Kaito read out, "Participants need to be in a group of 26 people."

At that sentence, I somehow knew who and what the next person was going to say…it was as if I could see the gears turning in Amy's head, and I was somehow the only one prepared for it when she suddenly burst out in excitement causing everyone to jump and said, "We can join up!"

"Join up…like you and me join up…" Nori said to Amy, turning on a charming smile.

I think…I think Nori was joking…but anyway for the first time I was watching Amy falter at giving one of her 'let's go' speeches.

Then Allen raise up his hand and said, "I think what Amy meant was that…we came here in a party of 22…and so if you joined us…we would have just enough people to participate…"

"Really!" Garcia exclaimed.

Haku and I nodded, "We'll have to ask the others too though." I hastily added.

"Your order is ready!" the girl at the counter said.

Grabbing our orders, we said bye to the four of them and turned to leave when Nori said, "We'll be signing us up! So see you there!"

Eh! I thought to myself.

We were walking back when Haku said, "I hope this will turn out ok…"

And I silently agreed.

Xxx

By the time we got back the rest had set up some mats on the sand and we were turning this into a burger party.

"Sandcastles! Yes!" Miku said excitedly, as she munched into her burger.

"So we are all in agreement?" I questioned.

"Well…" Mai started, "They signed us up already right…"

"So I guess we're in it anyway…" Zhengyi completed.

"Osu~! People! Let's aim to win!" Karina suddenly said, yup she's still the same, she's a winner and doesn't settle for anything less.

Then Amoz slammed both hands on the table and said, "Yeah! Let's win this!"

"Osu~!" Rin exclaimed as she tried to slam the table harder than Amoz.

"…probability that we will win…" Piko muttered in the corner.

Yukina and I were sharing a box of pocky, pushing our fries to anyone who wanted them.

"So we're all good then?" Barzini asked.

Everyone nodded, "Great! So let's hurry finish lunch cause it starts in half an hour!"

"Nyan~! Sandcastles!" SeeU said, a little late, but well at least she got what she wanted to say out.

Since the venue was quite some time away, we decided to cycle so kicking up our stands we headed out.

Xxx

We finally reached and were parking our bikes when I heard someone call out…

"Over here!" Garcia waved, Marcia was standing next to her but both their vocaloids seemed to be missing they were standing at an area tagged A9 (our group number) when Miku let out a squeal.

We all turned and Nori had apparently pulled the hair ties holding Miku's hair up and now it was flying all over the place in the ocean breeze. Can't say Barzini was too happy about it having hair blocking his vision all of a sudden. Lucky Miku brought spares and quickly did them up again. Then Luka tripped over something half buried in the sand, crouching down, she poked at it then remarked, "It's a toe…" Suddenly the sand shifted and Haru appeared rolling over in the sand. Getting up he dusted off his coat and stuck his hand out to Luka saying, "Haru!"

The others who didn't expect any of this just stared for a while before Marcia cut in and said, "Yes, stop staring… that one is mine…and that one is Nori, the prankster or 'VocaJoker' as I name him and he's my sister's vocaloid." She said, pointing to each person she mentioned in turn.

"Oh~" everyone breathed in sudden understanding. Then came the round of introductions which was done as swiftly as possible.

We walked together to the given site to build, the tools were all there and according to the organizers the tools could be used by vocaloids too, all touch activated of course.

Clapping his hands together Barzini said, "Ok! How about this! We build a fortress! Then we can stage a military coup then we can rule the world!"

I rolled my eyes, and was just going to say something back when Marcia answered flatly, "We can't rule the world…" It sounded like something Mai would say and I was looking around for the person in question when I realised that he was busy talking to…Garcia? And both of them were hunching over his PSP screen, both gamers?

Having just being shot down, Haru said in a I'm-about-to-explain-a-cheem-theory voice, "According to my calculations and from the judging criteria it should be done like this…" then he started assigning people to roles around our building site, no one was really given an opportunity to suggest but then it didn't look like anyone had any idea either having no experience in this sort of thing, so, we just followed, I was eventually assigned to build the out west gate wall? Somewhere along the way, Haru had propped up a board with a blueprint on it.

"…so he's assigning all the vocaloids to build the inside but there is no written instructions…and everyone else is at the outer walls…" someone mumbled behind the wall I was building, standing up a little, I saw that it was Piko, analyzing the blueprint. Next to him was Haku both were working on something together…it looked very bowl-like from where I was viewing. Next to them was, who Kaito was eating his soft ice cream that I finally got for him, and shoveling some sand on his structure.

"Pass the bucket!" Rin exclaimed to Len, they were both sitting at the same corner, somewhere near the South wing wall. Working over something I couldn't see. Aki was somewhere near them making some cannonball like thing arranging them in some sort of rough circle.

Luka and SeeU were in the so called North wing of what ever we were building and seemed to be debating over something, heard something distinctly 'fish' mentioned in their conversation. Miku was humming in a corner, patting down the sand of what looked like the start of a huge leek standing upright.

At the East side, Neru somehow managed to pile a block of sand and was carving it down with slashes of her katana. Nori ended up with Meiko and um…I can't really see what was going on there considering there was suddenly a lot of smoke in that corner.

Then I realise Haru was missing, hope he has a plan though, this castle building does seem like anything at all.

I turned to Karina beside me, "Pass me that." I proceeded to dig windows in the side of the wall, Karina stood up to do the designs on the turrets of the towers, then I started to carve a bigger hole for the door shaping it as I went along adding staircases leading out. Amoz and Hannah were working on the North gate, Amy and Michelle were on the East and Garcia and Marcia were doing the South gate, Mai and Zhengyi were making bridges to connect all four gates or doors together. Barzini was shaping the foundation around the walls. Allen was decorating the already done areas with the seashells he and Haku had collected earlier. It was somehow a castle of some sort but the inside was a mess. Since the ground was elevated you could see the inside clearly from most angles, I still didn't know where Haru was going with this.

It was half an hour to go till the end of the competition when Haru suddenly appeared and announced, "Okey has anyone guessed my awesome plan?" He got blank stares in return.

"Che…it's my awesomeness…so you might not know…anyway the idea is to show the judges that it looks like a boring normal castle from the outside but when you peer inside…" he leaned forward, "…you can see the personalities of everyone burst forth!"

Miku then raised up her hand and said, "How does that fulfill the judging criteria?"

"You'll see…" Haru answered, then clapping his hands together, he said, "Let's finish the rest of my experiment! I mean sandcastle!"

Xxx

Twenty five minutes later…

Well I shall give you the best description I can, of the final creation. The whole structure was in a circular shape has four gates, each gate was flanked by two turrets or towers and the crest on each gate represented a different thing. The North gate was represented by waves, the South by a tree, East by a pair of dice and West by a lollipop.

Looking in from the top I could see the various creations made by our vocaloids but the best views would be the ones taken from the gates of each wing. At the North, peering through, you could see two fishes 'swimming in a circle' upon closer observation it was of course a tuna and a salmon, the tow fishes were flanked by a 'forest' of leek courtesy of Miku. At the South, a giant orange and banana stood leaning against each other and just in front were several rings of apples. At the East, a giant cell phone leaned against an electric guitar and by the foot of that structure were several sake bottles. By now you should have realised that the last gate represented desserts, and presented there was a huge cone of ice cream and a bowl of marshmallows.

"It's not bad…"Barzini reluctantly admitted.

"It's not done yet!" Haru exclaimed from the side, he was somehow carrying a large column of sand and he walked gingerly to the center of the sandcastle he carefully placed it as the center piece. Then working quickly in carved out shapes of candy all over the surface of the tower and finally ended with shaping the top into a cone and adding some more designs. The buzzer sounded just as Haru stepped out. Dusting his hands off, he said, "Well, that's a wrap!"

Rin then pointed and exclaimed, "Why does yours get to be the center piece!"

"Well, that's cause I'm the oldest around here right! And besides it will win us this competition." Haru said proudly.

"Gotta admit it is very nicely planned…but how did you know that it would turn out like that?" I enquired.

"Ah…that would be through some calculations I made…" he answered.

Then over his shoulder I saw one of the judges touch one of the standing leek, and was caught off guard when his hand went straight though it, his puzzled expression was caught by Garcia who quipped, "That was made by our vocaloids or by Hatsune Miku to be exact."

"Eh~! Hatsune Miku! I'm a fan! Can I shake her hand?" the man replied, then spotting Miku he approached her for a hand shake. Surprisingly, Miku just stared and shook his hand silently. Then he turned to his fellow judges and muttered as they moved on, "…that was a very nice job…"

After he had walked a distance, Miku squealed and said excitedly to Barzini, "He shook my hand! The judge-sama shook my hand!" We all stared then we burst into laugher, we were all thinking it should be the other way round!

"Er…boom…tap tap…ah…ok…it's working." Came the voice over the announcing system.

"Well, we will be commencing the results of the annual sandcastle building competition…winning third prize is group A1!" As the judge went to deliver the prize to them, the commentator continued, "…coming in second place is group A5!" By now all of us were crossing our fingers, hoping that we would win.

Aki exclaimed to all of us, "Remember to cross your toes too!"

"And! In first place a winning the all-you-can-eat steamboat for the whole group…is…group A9! Congratulations!" the man announced, the judge who shook Miku's hand came along, and handed Barzini the coupon to claim our prize later.

"We won!" Karina shouted, "yessss!"

Kaito turned and high fived me and said, "We won! Wow! I don't think I ever won anything in my life yet!"

"Told you we'd win…" Haru said smugly to Nori.

"Hey! Dudes! Why not we use the coupon today for dinner!" Barzini suggested.

Everyone chorused in agreement, "Then it's decided then!" Nori said happily popping more party poppers.

"You know it's already 6:00pm…so why not we just go get dinner now…considering everyone is already gathered here…" Mai gave his input.

"But we are sandy…" Yukina said.

"We can just wash off over there…shouldn't take long," Zhengyi commented, while pointing at some taps.

Xxx

Ten minutes later (wheeling our bikes over to the restaurant)…and surprisingly with no mishaps of anyone 'accidentally' spraying each other with water we were seated at the restaurant…well apart from Haru's customary strange entries it was NORMAL. The restaurant was one of those very nice tatami styled restaurants where the table was low and you sat on cushions on the floor with warm a cozy lighting.

The twenty-six of us poured over the menu, there were different styles of soup and all the different types of meat and vegetables that seemed to go on for ages.

Miku spotted the leek soup and said loudly pointing to the picture, "LEEK! We must get leek soup!"

"They have onigiri here!" Nori shouted, waving the menu excitedly.

Aki's eyes widened as she jumped up and grabbed Nori's wrist, she peered at the menu and announced, "Apple! They have apple soup too!"

Rin grabbed the menu from her, flipping quickly, "EH~! No, orange soup! Why!"

"There's tuna soup…let's have that…" Luka commented.

"Nyan~! We must get salmon too!" SeeU said as she pawed the air.

Then a whole clamor of what people wanted for steamboat started, then suddenly, a sake bottle came crashing down on the wooden surface of the table with a loud bang causing everyone to jump, then Meiko said, "Why don't …we just…order everything!"

"She's right…we should…" Hannah said.

"I guess that would be ok…" Marcia said, agreeing.

Haru then whipped out some datapod thing and said in a contemplative voice, "I think if we do that…we might have some leftovers, but…"

"Argh! Whatever!" Amoz said in exasperation, he slammed the door to our room open walked up to the waitress and said, "We'll have everything on the list, thank you." Then he walked back in.

"Good to see that was settled," Neru said sitting in a corner.

I turned to say something to Kaito when I realised that he was in hushed conversation with Miku again, I made no effort to stop them as I smirked to myself and wondered what the great Barzini over there was going to come up with next, for our little spy story he started.

Then the food started pouring in from the door and suddenly the once empty table was filled with various kinds of soup, meat and vegetable dishes for vocaloids and humans alike, the bowls and spoons were passed out and just before everyone started, Kaito raised his hand and said, "Ok! Everyone! Itadakimasu!" Then dinner officially started.

I was harmlessly cooking my fishball, meatball, squidball…you get the idea…when Rin exclaimed, "It's mine!"

Len retorted, "I want it too!"and so the both of them started a chopstick war on who should get the first piece of meat, obviously Rin won and Len had to wait a little for the next piece to cook.

While Miku at the other end of the table was having her first taste of cooked leek, she hesitantly prodded it for awhile before picking it up and putting the whole thing in her mouth, she chewed a little then said to Barzini, "The leek…taste weird…it's sweet…raw leek is better! Barzini should only eat raw leek!" she announced her verdict.

Kaito was looking a little miserable, pushing his food around, "Wassup now?" I asked.

"No aisu…" he mumbled.

"How about we sneak out later and get some," I whispered.

"Really?" he whispered back.

I nodded, "But let's keep it a secret…" he nodded back, eating his food now.

Aki was drinking her apple soup and cooking some vegetables. Luka had her bowl of tuna soup to cook more tuna in it while SeeU on the other hand had salmon in hers. Both were humming a song about fish. Haku and Piko were sharing a chicken soup and Piko was telling Haku about the how the temperature affects food texture from one of the cooking books he read. Neru was stirring her soup waiting for the food to cook while texting someone on her cell. Nori was dunking in onigiri into his soup declaring that I quote 'I'm going to create an onigiri flavor soup that will revolutionize the world', while his brother was sticking a thermometer in his pot, doing what I had no idea. Meiko was adding sake into her chicken soup, making it sake-ginseng chicken favour?

All was going well and we were halfway through dinner, when Miku commented to Nori, "Ne…do you cosplay?"

Nori sputtered a little before replying, "What made you say that!"

"Well…I thought you kind looked like a g-" Miku said back when she was cut off by Haru who said, "Girl!" At that word, he had everyone's attention, "Well…you see my dear brother over here crossdresses sometimes…"

"Really!" Rin asked, interested.

"Heh…" Len exclaimed.

"Nii-san…" Nori said to his brother, silently willing him to keep quiet.

Taking out his tablet, Haru started flicking through photos of Nori when he was younger, while Nori was trying to cover the screen, Haru said, "Too bad…Yuki-nii is not here today…"

Haku shyly raised her hand and asked, "So…so…you two have an older brother?"

"Yup he's two years older than Haru! He's Yuki-nii, but he didn't come today…" Nori answered still trying to snatch the screen away from his brother.

While the rest were till looking at the half covered pictures and saying how cute Nori is, I nudged Kaito, "Wanna make our escape now?" He nodded and the both of us crept out, and shut the door behind us.

Xxx

I stretched as we got out of the room and mounted my bike, as Kaito did the same.

"I'm full…you?" I asked, glad for sometime alone with my best friend.

"I still have space for aisu!" Kaito happily proclaimed as we rode to our favourite gelato store.

I placed my hands on the cool glass of the ice cream display, then I spotted it! My favourite flavor! I pointed excitedly and said, "Double scoop chocolate and avocado! And a double scoop vanilla and chocolate for my vocaloid!"

Getting our orders we walked to our bike and sat down on the seat, silently appreciating the awesome thing that was ice cream.

"Breakwater?" I suggested.

"Yes please!" Kaito nodded.

We had mastered the art of cycling with one hand so off we were licking our ice cream and heading toward our favourite spot.

Scrambling up the breakwater as fast as we could with one hand, I sat cross legged on the stony surface, well according to Geography I was sitting on a million dollars worth of rock.

"Is avocado aisu nice?" Kaito asked.

"Mhm…the best…should try next time…" I said between bites of my ice cream.

Finishing up the cone, I put my hands behind my head and lay down on the breakwater, hearing the waves crash just beside me, if I was not careful I could just end up in the sea. Kaito soon joined me and we looked up at the night sky together.

"It's sad how Singapore is too bright to see the constellations properly…" I trailed of sadly.

"Is that why you like sneaking into the music hall?" Kaito asked.

"Mhm…you can really see everything there…it's a pity no one really appreciates the stars anymore though…"

"…I see one…"

"One what?" I asked, absentmindedly.

"One star. Over there…" I followed his pointed finger, and watched the spot his finger was on twinkle in the night, "I'm really going to catch one for Nicole one day!" he jumped up and exclaimed.

I laughed and said, "That would be nice indeed Kaito-san!"

"The next time we sneak in to the music hall early, Nicole-sama must tell me more about the stars!" Kaito said with a smile.

"Okey!" then I looked down at my watch, it was getting late! "I think we should go now!"

"Come back some other time?" he questioned.

I nodded, we made our way back in companionable silence. We passed by the steamboat shop but it seemed that the others had left, so we headed off to Yukina's house.

Xxx

"Bam!" something smacked in my face, as I opened the door, Barzini threw it, I picked up the offending thing from the floor and realised it was a pillow, giving a warning to Katio behind me about the melee he was about to enter. I took one more step into the house and saw Miku throwing a bolster at Rin.

Rin squealed a shouted back, "Take that!" and a sofa cushion came flying at Miku.

I on the other hand was looking for…ah…there! I aim and threw the pillow at Barzini catching him on the shoulder. "Ha!" I said.

Then I saw him pick up that pillow and raised it to whack Amoz who was standing right in front of him. I laughed then saw another incoming pillow and threw myself behind the couch.

I saw Kaito barely dodging a whack when he got caught in the face for not paying attention, by SeeU.

Kaito then picked up a fallen cushion and proceed to make his first target, but I didn't have time to see if it was successful as a blow from Amy landed on me, I picked up a bolster next to me and started chasing Amy around the room, when Karina helped me by hitting Amy for me, "Thanks buddy!" I shouted back to her.

"Ha! Take that!" Hannah said battling with Zhengyi in one corner of the room with bolsters as 'swords'.

Meiko was playing some drunken game with one hand holding a pillow and one hand holding a sake bottle, she was aiming at Piko saying, "Chibi~!" while Piko was not appreciating the term was trying to run as fast as possible, while randomly throwing pillows over his shoulder.

I spotted Allen in the corner and handed him a pillow and pulled him up, "Play!" Then I pushed him into the mess where he was immediately attacked by Amoz and Barzini, having no choice he finally joined in and looked like he was having a ball.

Then I turned to Haku, I was going to open my mouth and say something when I saw the empty sake bottle next to her, "EH~! You drink too!" At this Meiko came over and put an arm around Haku, "Yup…" she slurred, "my partner! Come on partner!" then she dragged Haku with her continuing to chase Piko down.

I searched the room for Kaito and saw that he was locked in some sort of battle with Luka and I can't say he was doing too well, when I get hit by someone, I turned around. Yukina.

"Pocky partner! How could you!" I said in mock sadness, then I raised my pillow and threw it at her.

By the end of all the exchanges all of us collapsed in a heap on the floor giggling mindlessly, with the random, pillow, bolster, cushion, even Luka's tuna soft toy which came out halfway and was not spared, as we tossed them up and around, too exhausted to actually aim it at anyone.

"That…was…fun…" Michelle panted out.

"Yea…especially when I had you in the corner…" Hannah said with a grin.

"We should…do that again next time…" I said.

"I know right! Considering the fact that I started it…" Barzini trailed off.

"Show off…" Zhengyi mumbled.

"Barzini awesome!" Miku said perkily, probably the only one that looks alive now I figured.

"Well…it was good…" Rin and Len said together.

"Uh…huh…" everyone murmured in agreement.

"Shall we turn in for the night?" Mai suggested, ah…the voice of reason…

"Yes…please…" Allen said softly.

Xxx

"I'm so tired!" I said dropping face first into my bed, I reached one hand down a pulled out the spare from under my bed and heard Kaito sink into it.

"Yea…tired but fun!" Kaito commented.

"Mmm…oyasumi(good night)…" I murmured, as I reached to switch off the lights.

Xxx

**Hello! Congrats for getting to the end and thanks for bearing with me….I'm happy! So many charas now!...Hope that was ok….well….I'm going to get my O level results tmr (and Barzini too!)…gahh!...hope I won't die…. anyway wish me (us) luck!...part two of our beach outing and the results of the music competition next! So stay tuned…review! As always cause some feedback is always nice….and a customary meron pan is given of course…and who doesn't like meron pan right!**

**Me: Cross our fingers for results day!**

**Kaito: Yup! Hope we get tops for our music project!**

**Me: -T_T- I meant for my O level results…**

**Kaito: Ohhh! Don't worry…you'll still do good!**

**Me: Thanks…**

**Anyway…Happy New Year…late…but better late than never! Mata ne! Till next time!**

**Edit: P.S. I is sorry for um confusions and mess ups so far….gomen ne….my fault…hopefully it's better now?**

**Edit again(hopefully the last time?): …I'm sorry again...sigh T_T…ok…anyway…I think the next chapter is coming soon…decisions decisions…thanks for all the good luck wishes!**


	9. Chapter 9

"Hmmm..." I sat up, and crossed my legs and assumed the meditation position, and I closed my eyes.

I heard gentle footsteps across the room and the unzipping of the luggage, and I heard the footstep drawing closer. I opened my eyes slightly and saw a pair of blue eyes staring at me.

"What are you doing?" Miku asked, tilting her head, and I opened my eyes slightly.

"Meditating. Good for the mind." I said, and I heard Miku climb onto the bed, and do the same.

"What are you supposed to do in meditation?" She asked, and I coughed.

"Empty the mind... Breathe in... Breathe out..." I said calmly, and I could hear Miku's breathing getting louder, and somewhat exaggerated.

"Breathe. Not asthma. Breathe." I demonstrated, taking a deep breath slowly, and then exhale. Miku followed the instructions, and I sat there, taking quick glances at her from the corner of my eye.

_Hurry... Come on..._

After a while. Miku's head sunk, and I turned a little. She had fallen asleep. I gave her a gentle poke and she collapsed onto the bed, breathing slowly.

I gently got off the bed and unzipped my bag, and removed a plastic film separating clothes from-

My fishing rod. It gleamed in the light. It was dark green, and I took out the box of mealworms beside it, and as quietly as I could, I scribbled a note to Miku to tell her to meet me at the breakwater and I left, bowing a little to an asleep Miku before leaving.

Why do I need an asleep Miku? Well, by the time she wake up, I'm bound to have caught something already. I think so anyway. Also, she keeps talking, not that I don't like talking, don't get me wrong. Just that for fishing…

"Wait! My laptop!" I cried to myself and re-entered the room, and as I bent down to retrieve my laptop at a corner of the room where it was charging, the fishing rod smacked the table lamp off the end table.

"Mhm..? Barzini-san..?"

Xxx  
>"You wanted to leave alone?" Miku said as I explained to her my situation, her face bowed and a small smile on her face. Was that forced?<p>

"Well… Yes… Like I said, fishing is boring. You probably won't like it." I bit my tongue and looked at her guiltily.

"I-It's okay… I'll go away." Miku stood up abruptly and when her hair swung, I caught a glimpse of tears, and I panicked.

"Look, Miku… I'm sorry." I grabbed her by the arm, and she stopped, still not facing me, and the panic meter in me was screaming EMERGENCY.

"You wanted to be alone! So I'm going!" She said rather loudly, and I grabbed her other hand so that she will face me.

"Miku… Sit down… Come on. Just… Sit…" I said, and she did, still not looking at me. To be honest, if I were in her shoes, I'd be pretty mad as well.

"I… Am sorry. But…" I bowed my head and stared at the floor as well, sitting beside her.

"Yes! You said that fishing needs silence. So are you saying that I am a noisy chatterbox? So you think the same way like Rin?" She shouted, her tears pouring down her face.

I looked at her silently for a moment.

"Miku. Do not. Ever. Accuse me of thinking badly of you. In fact, if I think badly of you, I won't even be talking to you right now." I said, my anger slowly building up steam.

"Why the hell do you think I was so overjoyed when I had a Vocaloid? Because there was one true friend I was guaranteed for life! Why do you think that I talk to you so much every day? Why! Because you're my best friend!" I said, keeping my voice calm though I felt that I could explode soon.

"Why on earth do you think that I think the same way as Kagamine Rin? You're a friend! A TRUE friend! AND THAT! WILL! NEVER! CHANGE!" I picked up my laptop and got up, leaving all of my fishing equipment behind, wanting to go out and take a breather.

When I was at the door, I heard someone run behind me, and I turned around, and Miku dived at me, hugging me, burying her head, and I sighed, and hugged her back.

"I-I'm sorry, Barzini-san! I-It's just… I am so worried that you don't want me anymore…! Do you know how it feels to be unwanted? Do you?" She asked, and I smiled but I did not answer.

"Put it this way, Miku. As long as I am alive, I will need you. Come, go wash your face. Then we'll go for a walk." I said, and she looked up at me, her eyes watery, but she was smiling, and from her eyes, I thought I could see a… Wonderful feeling… A very human one.

It was joy, and…

Gratitude.

Xxx

The nice thing about being at a beach was that it… Is more cooling than being in mainland Singapore due to the land and sea breezes, otherwise, it won't be an overestimation to say that Singapore is like a gigantic microwave unless its near the year end monsoon season, where moisture laden wind carry- Sorry, got carried away with Geography.

As we strolled down the path, I pointed to Miku, across the sea, there was land which we could make out.

"On a clear day, you can see Malaysia there…" I pointed out, and Miku, dressed in her signature black and turquoise nodded, squinting her eyes to see, and she nodded, smiling as she walked with a spring in her steps, smiling at every sentence I say, and giving an enthusiastic reply.

As we reached the breakwater, I sat down by it, and placed my laptop on my lap, and as Miku sat beside me, I smiled.

"I may have to give up on this project I have soon…" I sighed, hitting the backspace button with deliberate force.

"Why, Barzini-san? And what was this even about in the first place?" Miku asked, and I felt that she had lowered the pitch of her voice as well as try to speak less, to which I sighed.

"Miku. Be yourself. You don't have to change for other people. But if someone is willing to change for you, then you better treasure that person. Since I obviously treasure you, I think I like the Miku I see every day." I smiled, and she seemed to think through what I said for a moment.

"Okay, Barzini-san!" She smiled, and I could feel that suppressed Miku, the one that I was always proud to associate with, the cheerful, hyperactive girl with turquoise hair.

"You wanted to fish here right?" She asked, closing her eyes to feel the breeze as I sighed and turned off my laptop.

"Sure did… But… Being with a true friend is much better in every manner possible." I smiled back, and Miku poked the laptop, and I grinned.

"You can't touch it. It's for us." I said, and Miku nodded her head, before shaking it quickly.

"What was that supposed to mean?" I queried, and she held up her leek and gestured at the computer with it.

"I can't turn it on, but I can access it's database." She chirped, and I placed a finger under my chin before I nodded slightly.

"That would be because I assume that you all have some form of database as well?" I said, and she shook her head, before pointing to a fishing store nearby that allowed people to rent fishing equipment.

"It's a waste of money…" I said and quickly looked away, looking across the sea, where the sound of the waves were strangely calming.

"Barzini uso!" She wagged her leek and I sighed, and bit my lips as I stared at the rental store. This was seriously going to burn a hole in my pocket.

"Alright... Fine..." I placed my laptop down and went to the shop, and my heart ached as I paid for the rod and bait, three hours. Twenty-five dollars. Painful enough.

"There..." I fixed the bait to the rod, and I saw Miku squirm and I grinned.

"It's not real. No worries. Just looks real. The one I have in the dormitory is the real thing." I smiled, and cast the line into the water, and pulled out a dog collar from my pocket, which had a bell on it.

"My grandfather taught me this." I smiled, and there was a pole at the edge of the breakwater, and I tied the fastened the rod to the pole with the collar.

"If there is a fish, it would tug on the rod, so the bell on the collar will ring, and if it's not too heavy, then all you need to do is to reel it up." I said, and headed to 7 Eleven to buy ice, and then borrow a freezer from the fishing store, in which I poured the ice into.

"So, Miku, tell me. You're 16 right?" I asked and she nodded enthusiastically, twirling her leek, and her eyes were clear, clear blue or cyan. Not the kind of gaze you get from us burdened fifteen year olds in the story because we all know how pressured we are at this age for our GCE O Levels.

"Hai~! Young! Young!" She squealed, hugging her leek.

"I know right... But you never age too. Oh, how were you born?" I asked, moving to sit beside Miku, and she fell silent and looked down.

"I... Was asleep... Then I heard your voice... Then I heard your name... And I was instructed to be with you... But I was scared... Then I heard all the music and laughter from your videos... And I got curious... So, I came out!" She said, recalling the day we first met.

"Interesting. So where were you asleep in? Some chamber?" I joked, and Miku held the bit down on her leek.

"Uwahh... It is like... I don't know... I did not look around when I woke up..." She said, confusing me further.

"Wait, so you awoke and you were already sixteen?" I asked, and she nodded slowly.

"I think so... My first memory is of seeing you try to run away from me." She pouted, and waved her leek playfully at me.

"I see... So you were-"

_If I die young, bury me in satin... Lay me down on a bed of roses..._

My phone started ringing, and I saw that it was a friend of mine who was going through some relationship troubles. I sighed and gave Miku a tired smile.

I answered the call and coughed into it.

"Hey man... You free?" The boy's voice in the phone was shaky, obviously having cried earlier on.

"Sure man. But give me a second." I passed my laptop to Miku who looked at it.

"Let it entertain you first... I think this would be too boring for you." I whispered, lowering the phone so that my friend couldn't hear me.

Miku placed her hand at the laptop and her eyes shifted out of focus, and I resumed talking to my friend.

"Do you need someone… When you are sad? Is that being weak of me?" He said, his voice quivering and I sighed.

"No, I don't think that I'm weak when and if I need someone to talk to. You're only weak if you think you are weak." I replied, and kept silent for a moment before I continued.

"Different people got their own ways of expressing their sorrow. Some people must tell others. It's not being weak. In fact, don't you feel better after you tell someone about it? When I do, I do feel less burdened. Am I weak? I don't think so. Also, to tell you the truth. As much as I don't tell people a lot of things about me, I would end up doing so one day. Now that I got such a special and true friend that is." I said, turning to look at Miku who was beaming.

"She's right… I always need someone to lean on… It's… Okay… Thanks Barzini." He said quickly, and hung up. Obviously someone had entered the room. Sighing, I hung up and turned to Miku who was smiling at me.

"Whoa. You heard everything?" I asked her jokingly and she shook her head.

"Just the last few lines! But it's good enough advice and especially the last line which is so true! So worship me!" She pointed her leek forcefully at me, and she suddenly just stared at me, and I waved my hand in front of her.

"Barzini-san… I want you to tell me the truth about you being the ring leader of the organizations… Why would you destroy my leek?" She hugged her leek protectively, and I stoned there for a moment.

"Okay, tell me what is going on… Bit by bit…" I said, utterly confused and she told me that she had told Kaito who told Nicole about what I said, and the girl had not only shifted all the terror labels to my name, and added an Melt-all-Ice-cream-faction to it.

"I see… I see…" I scratched my chin and wondered about that for a moment. This was a sticky one. Truth or carry on playing?

"Well… I see what a clever game that Nicole is playing… To turn my allies against me… Worthy of a world-class assassin… Did you know she was the mastermind of the assassination of Willy Wonka? The person in charge of a huge chocolate factory? She is the ring leader of the organizations she mentioned. In fact, she is a member of the Dark Banana-group… A group aiming at poisoning all the bananas in the world to control the minds of everyone…" I said eerily, and Miku shuddered before she blinked.

"Wait. Isn't she part of the Anti-Banana terror group?" She said and I flinched. Oh no, a loophole.

"Yes, after the bananas are poisoned, and consumed and all of us have been controlled, therefore, we can all assist them to destroy the bananas." I said gravely, and Miku covered her mouth with her hand, horrified.

"I- I see… She… She is a killer? Nicole is too nice! She wouldn't hurt a fly!" She said in a hushed voice and I almost lost it.

"I know… But she'd hurt a fellow human being." I said, and Miku nodded slowly, horrified that our dear friend, Nicole, could do such a terrible thing.

I laid down on the rocks, and I could hear… the crashing of the waves… The rustling of the leaves in the wind… The ringing of bells… Miku who was lying down beside me… I could hear the rhythm of her breathing…

Bells.

Wait that didn't sound right. Bells?

"Fish! Fish!" I cried and rushed to the rod, which was trembling, it's rod bent, and with one hand, I clung onto the rod, hauling it up, and the other, loosened the collar, and leant my body back, with Miku watching on anxiously.

"Gambatte, Barzini!" Miku cheered as I started to reel it in, and lowering the rod further so that it won't be under too much tension and snap.

"Too… Heavy…" I grunted, and I decided to defy how the old method in which people fish.

"GWAH!" I cried and pulled the rod up slowly, and after a while, I suddenly felt a ceasing of resistance and I fell, landing on my back, holding onto the fishing rod.

"I think it got away." I panted, and stood up.

"Eh? Miku? Where are you?" I looked around and saw that she had fallen down as well, and I blinked.

"What happened?" I asked, shaking her.

"I can tell for sure that your fish did not get away." I heard her say and she sat up, and where her face was, the fish was there, attached to my rod.

Her face had a comical imprint of the fish's tail, which was reddish, implying that when I hauled it up, the rod had whipped back and slapped Miku across her face with the fish, causing her to fall down.

"Poor Miku…" I suppressed a smile and placed the fish into the freezer, burying it under all that ice and tied the rod to the pole again with the collar, and gave Miku a pat on the shoulder, and she pouted, rubbing the side of her face.

"Hurts…" She whimpered and my heart softened and I bowed a little.

"Gomenasai!" I said, and she narrowed her eyes at me for a moment before nodding.

"Forgiven!" She said enthusiastically, waving her leek at me.

I smiled back and the bells rang again.

So for whom does the bell toll?

Xxx

"All ready to leave?" Yukina raised her fist in the air and Piko did the same.

"Yes!" Everyone chirped, carrying their luggage as it was, with the exception of me who was lugging a freezer that I had bought.

"What happened to the one you borrowed?" Piko asked me and I sighed.

"Key being borrowed. But of course I have to return it at some point…" I replied and he nodded, and turned to face Yukina who was apparently thanking everyone for the wonderful time that we had together, and when her speech ended, I simply started clapping.

"So… How many fish did you catch?" Nicole said mockingly, and the people around me sniggered, with the exception of Allen and Haku. I think those two are going to be my best friends…

Miku raised her hands triumphantly, all ten fingers outstretched, and holding it so close to Nicole's face that there was this threat that if she was real, her face would get hit.

"Ten?" Kaito said, moving swiftly to stand between Miku and Nicole.

"No!" Miku pouted, throwing her leek onto the floor, and raised her hands again, and she stomped her feet as well.

"Guys, look at her toes." Michelle said, and we all bent down. Two toes were wriggling.

"Twelve?" Zheng Yi said, and Miku gave him a hug.

"Smart! Smart!" She said, picking up her leek and twirling it, and proceeded to walk around in circles me, who had my bag slung across me and hugging this freezer with a laptop on top that I almost looked comical.

"Let me help you with that." Zheng Yi said, and took the laptop off the freezer and I thanked him.

"Off to the bus stop! Follow tight! No one is going to get lost!" Yukina held her hand high and everyone laughed.

"The results announcement is at what time?" I heard a voice ask softly beside me, and I saw that it was Allen, with Haku whose head was bowed and had a slight shade of red on it, walking slightly behind him.

"Ah… I guess by the time we are back at school, around noon? We're supposed to go to the… Music Hall… To meet the preposterous poser of Albus Dumbledore." I grunted and Allen nodded, and slowed his walking, so that Haku and himself will fall at the back of the group again.

"You plan to shut these in your fridge?" Neru asked, her hand on her katana, which gave a vague impression of a samurai.

"Sure. Tuna is BIG and tasty if cooked right." I purposely lowered my voice as I saw that the fish-lover, SeeU was in front.

However, I forgot the TUNA-lover, Megurine Luka.

"Did you just say... Tuna?" I heard a dangerous whisper beside me and saw that Luka was eyeing the freezer in my hands and I gulped.

"C-Calm down! I-It's just tuna!" I stuttered, and Luka got closer and closer, losing her usually calm and composed manner, her mouth opened wide, her hand outreached towards the box.

"Wait. This is for humans. You can't eat it." I pointed out, and a blank expression appeared across her face, and she sighed.

"If only I could…" She made a swipe at the freezer box, hugging her huge tuna plushie tightly.

"Guys! The bus! Hurry!" I heard Yukina say and I looked up, and I saw the bus going to the bus stop. Run or walk? But I'm too lazy to run…

"Come! Come! Run! Run!" I heard Neru say and I saw her practically flying towards the bus, and I sighed. All you need is one runner and the rest will follow. Sure enough, everyone else started running, and I shook my head, before forcefully lifting my feet to the next step faster and faster and ran to the bus, with Hatsune Miku ahead of me, her long blue hair flying. Should she be real, her hair would have completely obscured my vision and had me run into a lamp-post or something like that.

As we boarded the bus, I set my freezer down and paid the fare, before proceeding to join the gang seated at the back of the unusually empty bus.

"Hey, guise! Who do you think will do the best overall?" Amy asked, and Karina perked up instantly.

"Of course it is us! Who else!" Karina said proudly, pointing at Haku Yowane who blushed and looked away.

"Hey, that one with the killer lovers wasn't that bad you know." I added in and Len Kagamine looked at me incredulously.

"Why them? Would people like you all really have your loved one die and fall in love with the killer?" Len asked, and Karina nodded in agreement.

"Stockholm's syndrome. A psychological phenomenon where hostages express empathy or even affection for their kidnapper." I replied quickly, and I heard Miku sigh.

"Judging from that sigh… Barzini, which history book did you get that from? Or was it the Mentalist or CSI Miami?" Michelle said, and SeeU held up narrowed her eyes at me, raising her hand and brushed it against the side of her face.

"World is not enough actually. Pierce Brosnan as James Bond… My favourite James Bond forever." I pointed out and Nicole rolled her eyes.

"Wait. Where is Kaito?"

We turned to look at Yukina who was performing a head count. After a while, we slowly turned to face Nicole who had buried her face in her hands.

"Tell me… Did anyone see Meiko and Hannah too?" Yukina asked and we all groaned. Either Sake had done its job or both of them had really lost their way.

"Kaito said he'll catch up. Aisu stand… The old man with this motorcycle. And his bell. Ring ring!" Rin said, mimicking the way the street ice cream vendors rang their bells to attract customers.

"Ah… Then Meiko and Hannah?" Mai asked, looking up from his PSP and we looked around at each other. Someone needed to go back and get them. Finding them was the more major issue.

"Yukina, did you do a headcount in the beach house?" Zheng Yi asked, and Yukina nodded urgently.

"Of course I did! I am not dumb!" Yukina snapped, and a marshmellow flew towards Zheng Yi which went through him and hit an asleep Neru.

"Who… Did that…?" Neru said, sitting up straight, but not opening her eyes.

"OKAY! TELL ME HOW THE RESULTS GO!" Nicole said quickly, and as the bus pulled to a stop at the next station, Nicole hopped off, along with Piko and Yukina, allegedly to rescue Hannah and Meiko.

Or rescue Piko, now that it is mentioned.

"Okay... So... The rest of us..." Karina said, and then with both her hands, pointed at Amy who continued-

"Go back for the results!"

Xxx

"Ok guys! We have just twenty minutes. Twenty minutes. Go pack your stuff, clean up if you can do so in like ten minutes! And-" Karina said enthusiastically,until the loudspeaker played a musical chime signalling an announcement.

"All students, please proceed to the music hall in your best attire. The announcing of the results will be pushed back by an hour. Crypton Future Media President, Hiroyuki Itō would later be holding a press conference, with an important announcement."

"Does that call for formal attire?" Zheng Yi said brightly, and Neru looked at him angrily.

"Did you even buy any for me!" She growled, her hand on her katana, and Zheng Yi backed away, his arms raised to shield himself.

"Where's mine too!" Rin glared at Amoz who moved away, and both of their human companions were staring warily at their Vocaloids. One had a katana and the other had a steamroller.

"You two haven't bought formal attires for your Vocaloids? Shame, shame on you!" Amy stuck out her tongue and Aki did the same, causing Miku to skip over to the two boys and shake her head in an exaggerated form of way.

"Alright folks, I'll be off. An hour plus to waste and I am definitely not going to stand here. You few might as well go and shop for formal wear. Bye!" I laughed, and with the freezer in my hands, turned and started to make my way back to the dormitory, with Hatsune Miku following close behind me.

"Barzini-san..." She said and I cast a sidelong glance at her, and raised my eyebrows.

"No worries of course, good ole freezer is going back into the fridge along with all that ice in it... Guaranteed freshness." I said, and she shook her head.

"No, I wanted to ask-" She opened her mouth to speak and I sighed.

"Want some advice is it? Someone stole your leek?" I asked, trying to predict her question and she shook her head continuously.

"Advice regarding whether you still want your laptop back. It's still with Zheng Yi." She pointed at their rapidly fading figure as they walked away-

"HOI! HOI! STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!" I shouted at them and gave chase, with a girl that has extremely long hair in the colour of turquoise following behind.

Xxx

"Okay... Now we all need to wash up. You can go on in first." I said to Miku, who did some sort of a little bow and stepped into the shower.

Rubbing my forehead, I turned on my laptop, and went through my Facebook, noting all 182 of Miku's notifications, then pulled up Hotmail. I had mailed a friend on the consistent errors I kept getting in the scripting.

"Ooh... A reply..." I said softly to myself and clicked on it. I am going to succeed!-

_Dude. What the heck are you going on about? -_-_

I stared lamely at his reply and sighed. I was going to be on my own for this project, most definitely too.

As I opened the scripting window, I almost died.

"MIKU! WHY THE HECK ARE THERE MIKURAWKS IN EVERY ALTERNATIVE LINE! OH AND EMOTES TOO!" I shouted, and I heard a rather high pitch "Ooh!" and Miku scrambled out of the shower, with just a towel wrapping her wet body.

"DUDE! DUDE! WHAT THE HELL! YOU CAN ANSWER ME IN THE SHOWER! GO GO GO!" I hurriedly covered my eyes and only opened it when I heard the shower doors closing.

"The numbers didn't really make sense, so I thought it should be livened up!" I heard her say cheerfully and I didn't know whether to kill her or breakdown and cry.

"Ruined. I'm ruined." I flopped into the chair and slammed my fist onto the keyboard with deliberate force, and leant back, closing my eyes.

_Launching…_

Loading data cache…

Initializing Miracle App.

I opened my eyes at the last line and and I saw a folder being created on my desktop with the name, "Transformation App"

"C-Could it be… Possible?" I stared incredulously at the folder, and after a brief moment, I plugged in my iPhone and watched as iTunes popped up, but I ignored it. Going back to my desktop, I opened iPhone Explorer and dragged the folder into the apps folder.

"O-Okay…" I gulped, and disconnected my iPhone, and placed my finger onto the screen, and slid it across the screen.

_Miracle_

There it was, on the screen. ON THE SCREEN.

I tapped the app, and held my breath as the screen turned black, and then an interface turned up, a dark blue screen came up.

_Initialize_

How to use

"Of course I know how to use this…" I said absentmindedly and tapped on Initialize, which had the screen turn to a camera.

"Okay… So if I…" I aimed my camera at the laptop, and took a photo of it, and then, it gave me a selection box of items.

_Identify object to Vocalize._

I made that term up. Cool eh?

_Items identified in photo: Barzini's PC (Specs received via syncing with iTunes)  
>Fridge<br>Banana  
>Milkshake<br>Used paper  
>History textbooks<br>Table lamp_

Identified via picture analyzing…. Complete…

Please choose item to Vocalize.

Holding my breath, I tapped laptop, and a loading bar came out, and my excitement rose as it started moving across the screen, and then-

It froze.

"Come on…" I shook my phone a little, and after another good five minutes or so, I set the phone down, and Miku came out.

"Well, almost did it. Almost." I muttered and Miku looked at me questioningly, and I stepped into the shower, thoroughly disappointed.

Naw… It'll work. I'm sure it work.

Xxx

"Uhh… Miku… Get dressed. I think I need to drop by the canteen for some food." I said, stepping out of the shower, dressed in a basic jeans and shirt (LOOK, I RARELY ATTEND FORMAL SESSIONS SO I DON'T REALLY HAVE FORMAL WEAR!), and I saw Miku hammering away at my laptop.

"Miku… Don't hit so hard at the laptop… My heart aches." I said sarcastically and I heard her reply indignantly, "NOT YOURS! MINE! IT WAS HERE!"

"Riiiiight." I said to her and picked up my laptop, and picking up my laptop, I hammered the back of my neck and gestured for her to get dressed for the occasion. She DID have formal wear.

"Let me turn off my laptop first…" She pouted, and I sighed.

"How do you turn off my laptop when it is with me? Silly girl…" I laughed, and it was at this moment when my dysfunctional brain clicked.

I looked at the laptop in my hands and the one sitting on Miku's lap.

"W-Where did you get that?" I asked her, and I felt my face tensing. It is always like this when I am nervous or afraid.

"Y-you're so pale. Sit down, Barzini-san!" She waved her hand at my face and that was the last thing I remembered.

Xxx

"Wake up, boy… It's no good. Get me a glass of water." I heard a man say, and some footsteps.

"Is he… Dead?" I could hear a familiar high pitched voice, which was trembling.

"No, just fainted. Nothing we couldn't solve, really. Here you go!"

I felt a dash of cold onto my face, and some entered my nose, causing me to choke and cough, opening my eyes, I see that Caucasian man from a long time ago.

"Hey! You're awake. Thanks chap." He said to a bell boy who bowed and left, and I sat up, looking around.

"Your good Vocaloid there was screaming in the hallway. And I was at the first floor." He grinned, and I grinned sheepishly.

"Thanks… What time is it? Am I late for the results?" I said, and the man looked at his golden Rolex.

"Well, you got another ten minutes, and your Vocaloid took the liberty of getting dressed into that nice white dress of hers while we tried to wake you up. Come on now… I need to go, I'll have Miku here taking care of ya. If there's anything, get her to scream." He winked, and gave me a firm pat on the shoulder, before he left.

"Barzini-san! Are you okay?" Miku bent down to me, and I nodded, standing up firmly. I'm not swaying about the spot, which means that I'm fine.

"It worked… It worked!" I moved to the iPhone and I was grinning like a lunatic.

"What does?" Miku asked curiously, and I smiled.

"Oh, let me demonstrate my curious little toy. My… PWECIOUS…" I stroked the iPhone with this crazed grin on my face that even the great, Hatsune Miku was moving away.

"Okay, you see that? You see that teapot set we brought back with us from the project? Now look…" I restarted the app, and took a photo of the teapot and selected it under identified objects to Vocalize.

Five minutes later, a Vocaloid teapot fell from where the camera of the iPhone was and it seemed to happen in slow motion.

"CATCH IT!" I shouted, and Miku dived forward, and she caught it just an inch above the ground.

"Nice one." I commented, and she held up the tea pot, turning it around on her hands, opening and closing the lid.

"Cool~~~!" Miku chirped, and I glanced at my watch.

"We better go! Or something bad is gonna happen to our results! I wonder if the numb cake who got lost and the volunteer search party are there…" I said absentmindedly, picking up my laptop, and Miku did the same, picking up her clone of my laptop which was completely available for Vocaloids to use.

"Let's get our judgement."

Xxx

I looked seriously out of place outside the Music Hall which was still shut.

"Barzini-san! Look! Everyone, black suits! White suits! You in jeans! Poopoo!" Miku leant forward and covered her nose, causing several people beside me to laugh, and cause my face to turn a slight shade of red.

"Shhh… You're very pretty in that dress… So don't make a fool out of your dear friend here okay?" I whispered to her and she blushed a little and nodded.

"On one condition!" She whispered back, and I nodded.

"Leek leek, mucho leek." I replied, and she nodded happily.

"Hey mate!" Amoz walked towards me in a tuxedo, with Rin dressed in a orange dress that had a bow in the centre.

"Hey… Looking good there!" I laughed and looked at him from top to toe.

"Where's your suit?" Kagamine Rin asked, pointing at my white shirt, and I rolled my eyes, prompting Amoz to laugh.

"Barzini never wears formal wear. Like never. He hates it." Amoz told Rin who nodded slowly.

"So difficult to move in them… For me at least." I grinned, and I saw the rest of the crew, minus Nicole, Kaito, Meiko and Hannah, Piko and Yukina.

"Our search party seems to be MIA." I commented, and Amoz nodded.

"Maybe Hannah and Meiko went for a swim in their pool of Sake." I heard a girl's voice and turned, and there was Michelle with SeeU. Michelle was dressed in a black gown, and she was wearing…

"Are those gloves?" I said incredulously, pointing at them.

"Yes, for formal wear. Problem?" She snapped, and I raised my hands a little, signifying-

Nope, no problem at all.

"I see SeeU doesn't need changing of clothes." Amoz pointed at the cat-like Vocaloid which went "Nyan~" and pawed her face.

"I figured hers was formal enough in the first place." Michelle said, and we could only agree. It DID look sort of formal with those buttons.

"You guys anxious?" Amy popped up with Aki, in a ridiculously long white dress, with the latter in a-

"Seriously. A kimono for her? Amy? You're kidding." I said, pointing at Aki who was dressed in one kimono that was a slight shade of red, with prints of cherry blossoms.

"I would have insisted upon getting-" Amy started until Karina turned up, dressed in a black short dress, and Karina with her hands on her hip, turned a bit on the spot, and attempted to do a catwalk, and that irritating naughty version of me came up, and I stuck out my foot, hoping to trip her.

"Oi!" She cried out, and stumbled a little, and turned to glare at me, and I whistled, and turned around on the spot with my foot stuck out, and Amoz laughed.

"Alright alright. Just a joke. Just a joke." Amoz said, and Karina glared at me and I stared back at her until she lost the staring contest. Then came Zheng Yi with Neru Akita, Zheng Yi… Was in a fine tuxedo suit we all see on a typical James Bond movie. Neru was…

"Amazing…!" Rin awed at the girl dressed in a dark red kimono, but with the katana still at her side, she looked a bit like an odd mix between a samurai and a traditional, but elegant Japanese lady.

"Tch! W-What!" Neru said defensively and her face reddened slightly, and she looked away, but you can obviously tell that she is pleased.

"I- I have to admit… You look sen-" I started, and Miku suddenly walked in front of me, turned herself 90 degrees to face me, then she lowered her head a little and stared at me, pouting. Getting the hint, I fell silent, and pointed at Megurine Luka who was dressed in her signature costume, and Mai who was dressed in shirt and jeans as well, his hands with a PSP and… Now I am beginning to like this boy.

"My good kamerad! Comrade!" I walked to Mai and gave him a good old pat on the shoulder and I stared at the screen. Patapon.

"Dude, move them forward." I urged, and he shook his head.

"Enemy strong. Me weak." He said, and I sighed. Was he trying to be Yoda? Or someone similar?

"Okay… Any news from our beloved Supreme Leader of the Group, Nicole? And Supreme Beach House dictator, Yukina?" I asked around, and Neru shook her head.

"Zheng Yi didn't get a call. Right, Zheng Yi?" Neru turned forcefully to Zheng Yi who gulped and nodded quickly.

"Hai! N-No calls!" Zheng Yi answered and we stared at him strangely. Japanese? Zheng Yi said Hai?

I was about to say something cheeky when the doors to the Music Hall swung open, and I felt a huge rush of the aircon in my face.

"Judgement time. Let's go." I smiled at Miku who was beside me, who looked at me for a moment, before smiling herself, her eyes closed. She seemed happy.

I hope so.

Xxx

"Please, quieten down! Quieten down!" the MC said into the mic, and I gestured silently at the back-row, and headed there, with Miku who also hurried up the steps and I sat down on a red chair, and narrowed my eyes as Miku was humming a tad too loudly in such a formal event.

"Be considerate for the one on stage and the next time, they may thank you for it." I whispered to her, and Miku's mouth gradually closed up and she stared at the stage, and the rest of the group fell to the seats near me, minus the search party and the lost.

"What do you think is our result?" Michelle whispered to me and I shrugged. They were definitely people as good as us, if not better. As everyone gradually settled down, the same three Crypton executives took the front row, and two girls walked onto stage, holding cue cards and microphones and dressed in almost identical black gowns. One had dark blue waist-length hair and the other

"Konichiwa, fellow classmates, teachers and Crypton executives, I am Karen, and this-" She pointed at the girl beside her with dark purple hair-

"Is Penelope. We are your MCs for this event." She smiled, and everyone in the audience clapped, and two of them stood up to applaud dramatically.

"Those two are quite enthusiastic." I whispered to Michelle beside me who nodded and whispered back-

"They would. They're Vocaloids or UTAUs… I can't see them from here… But well, I would assume they belong to the MCs."

I took another look and she seemed to be right. Their colour seemed to uhm… Dark for humans. Definitely either Vocaloids or UTAUs.

"Yes, today, ladies and gentlemen, we are honoured to have the pioneer behind the idea of Vocaloids… Chief Executive Officer of Crypton Future Media, Hiroyuki Itō!" Penelope announced, and the three Crypton executives stood up, and taking the cue, the rest of the audience stood up, clapping, and a man wearing a leather brown jacket, grey jeans appeared, a black-framed spectacles atop his nose.

"Dear all, if you do not understand Japanese, you will realise that there is a pair of headphones under your seat. Kindly put them on!" Karen literally sang into the microphone and I bent down and saw a pair of headphones dangling underneath my seat.

I took it out and looked at Miku, who was just sitting there.

"Aren't you going to like… Put on your headphones?" I asked her and she pouted and bowed her head to stare at me.

"I understand Japanese!" She pouted and looked the other way and I grinned while shaking my head, and put on my headphones.

The CEO opened his mouth to speak, and his voice came clearly into my ears.

"Minnasan, arigatou."

A second voice started once he finished the sentence-

"Thank you everyone."

The CEO then looked up at the sound control room, and after a while, he gave the thumbs up and continued.

"Koko ni kite wa hontouni watashi no yorokobi da."

"I am very pleased to be here."

"Kyou wa hajimari, Sapporo de no isogashii sukejuuru wa hima ni natta, kono kakumeiteki na gakko e kuru no chansu ga aru."

"This is the first time that I managed to free up my schedule in Sapporo to come to this revolutionary school."

The CEO looked up and smiled, and he spoke again-

"Watashi wa shinrai, kimi tachi wo motsu no vocaloid wa subete manzoku shite iru deshou ne?" He said, his voice going higher slightly at the end of the sentence. A question- What was it?

"I trust that all of you are pleased with your vocaloids?" The second voice answered my question, and there was a general murmur of agreement and cheering while I just looked on.

I saw a finger poke me and I felt nothing. Obviously Hatsune Miku.

I pulled up a side of the headphone and she leant closer, and whispered, "Why aren't you agreeing? I am awesome."

"First, there will be a lot of people cheering. I'm too lazy to. Second, I beg to differ the latter of the statement." I whispered back, and Miku puffed up her mouth and shot me a look before settling back into her chair, giving a defiant, "HMPH~!"

When the cheering died down, the CEO continued-

"Maa, tonikaku, crypton future media kara no juuyou na happyou ga aru…"

"Okay, anyway, there is a major announcement from Crypton Future Media…"

"Kimi tachi to vocaloid no tame ni, waga kaisha wa Shingaporu de no ootekouriten to oote shopingu senta isshou ni sagyousareteiru, motto minnasan wo tsukau koto ga dekiru no aitemu ga tsukuru, dakara kimi tachi wa monogoto ga ima doko ni demo kaukoto ga dekiru."

"We have worked hand In hand with most major retailers in Singapore, and now, in major shopping centres, there are items for both Vocaloids and yourselves."

At the end of the Japanese sentences, I saw the vocaloids jump up and cheer, and our Vocaloids as well, for she could comprehend Japanese, which made me raise my eyebrows. At the end of the English translation, my widening grin became a smile, and I joined in the cheering, and saw Miku's mouth move. I pulled the headphones aside.

"Why are you cheering now?" Miku asked, her face still puffed up.

"Because you're awesome." I replied and there was a faint shade of red on her cheeks and she stuck out her tongue before looking forward again.

"Sorede, happyou owari. Puroguramu wo hajimemashou!" the CEO bowed and stepped off the stage, and we applauded although we did not know what he was talking about. But if he steps off the stage, you got to clap right?

"Enough words! Let's have the results!"

Okay, THAT sentence got me hyped up. I didn't even realize that Michelle was squealing because I had sunk my fingers into her skin out of anxiety.

"Bar-bar-bar- Baraaaaaaaaaaah! Get your ahhhh! Fingers! AWAY!" Michelle squealed and I turned and quickly removed my hand. I had left 5 finger marks on Michelle's left hand, and she glared at me.

"NYAAAAAAAAAAAAA! YOU HURT MY OWNER!" SeeU raised her… hands… Or paws…? But she did have very long nails…

"Thank you sir! First off, let us see the various performing groups in action on this video!" Karen said, and Penelope gave the thumbs up to whoever was in the sound and video control room.

The lights started to dim, and the only lights available were the ones at the exits, and from the projector. The classic "4-3-2-1" countdown was shown, and then, a number ONE was shown.

"Is that the winning group?" I whispered to Michelle, and as the video played on, I relaxed. No, they were just showing it in order of performance in cinematic viewing. I didn't know they had cameras for close-ups and overhead…

All the performances were changed to like MVs, with professional (more or less) type of shooting and editing. Computer generated light were added into this huge clip as well…  
>"To be honest, in that Romeo and Juliet play, if they actually placed a backdrop of Verona… I'd be most pleased… Did you know that the Romans-" I whispered to Michelle, who turned and said-<p>

"The Romans said that I did not want to know any of those things?" She whispered back and I fell back and sighed. THE BEAUTY OF HISTORY. THE GREAT BEAUTY OF IT!

"Check out the kidnapper's face closeup. Rather hamsum vocaloid." Michelle whispered, and I nodded. Rather hamsum indeed. (Singlish for handsome)

"Wait… That… That… That dagger… It looks pretty cool… But a pity that it is for Vocaloids." I sighed, muttering to myself, staring at the silver coloured blade.

"Our turn…" I bit my lips, wondering how it would turn out under such high-quality filming. Even that HD camera I brought for memories sake couldn't match its quality.

The screen started up, and you have Piko in the room, a gradual zoom and shift in the camera until only his silhouette could be seen staring outside the window, then there was a shot of his face from outside of the window and you can hear a door opening.

Then you hear Haku's voice, and the camera slowly moves up from her shoes, up to her face, and her conversing with Piko. Then when the hug came, there was a zoom on Piko's face first, and-

"Acacia… Every flower one gets another has a hidden meaning behind it... And for this… Concealed love?"

Then, the camera focused on Haku's smiling face and it faded to the next scene. And as the video went on, we could only wow.

Then the song came, with mostly overshot views, capturing their expressions and graceful moments perfectly.

Especially the part when the arrows made contact with Piko. You have a closeup of the eyes of the guards narrowing, then the sound of the bows letting loose their arrows, that "TWANG" sound was purposely magnified and echoed, and the camera follows the arrow, and just as it is about to hit Piko, you can a zoom in on his shocked expression, and everything seems to slow down for a moment, and as the first arrow buries itself into Piko, you have a shot from behind of him, his body trembling from the force of the arrows.

"Oh my goodness… That is so Hollywood like." I heard Amy say, and turned behind and nodded in agreement.

"I heart Haku's dress… Barzini-san… Can I have one?" Miku whispered, and I turned to face her, and smiled, nodding. Miku gave a soft smile back, her leek sitting on her lap. I think Miku has matured a lot. At least now she asks things without demanding, although I firmly believes that it is still a secondary option for her.

Then when Haku screamed, it zoomed out slowly, her scream echoing, and the camera continued to zoom out, until it showed the exterior of the castle.

"Okay… I did not do that. I did not have an exterior of a castle…" I said, and turned to Mai who was beside Amy, and he nodded.

"We did NOT do that." He agreed with me, and then I heard my voice as word overlays started to go up the screen, in front of the castle.

_Nothing is known of what happened next that day. A reddish glow emerged from the room where the fighting took place, and there were screams of distraught and fear. The entire castle's occupants were killed in that day. Even the heavily protected King met his end. None was spoken among the masses when Prince Utane took the throne, along with his newlywed, Queen Haku Yowane._

The words in blue slowly scrolled up the screen, and then it faded to black, and that still image of Haku in a queenly dress seated on Piko's lap was shown, just a lot darker and more sinister, and it ended, and the theatre turned back to darkness.

I heard some voices, and I saw someone leaving the Music Hall, and the lights came back on. Then, there was that piano sitting on the stage again.

"Ah… Those music videos were rather entertaining, weren't they?" SOUL's voice came on, and there were a murmur of agreement in the crowd.

"So! The moment that you all have been waiting for." SOUL said, and the three executives stepped onto the stage.

"Our principal and Chief Executive Officer has some urgent business to attend to, so, I will take over his announcing of the results." The man who had first greeted Miku said, his voice resonating to the back of the Hall.

"In third place… The group who gets to win a room expansion and upgrade, would be… the group with… Garcia Leong! The song titled, Prisoner of Love!" He announced and there was a loud scream from some of the girls in the group, and Garcia stood up, waving her hands as she ran down to the stage, dressed in a good ole tuxedo.

"That group was rated 1 for lyrics, 6 for originality of script, 6 for acting. 13 in total. Of course, the perfect score is 10. Yes, most of you were abysmal." SOUL said matter-of-factly, but it seemed to only bring up the mood of Garcia's group, and dampen the mood of the others.

"Miku, where is my rings of Cyanide?" I asked, and her eyes widened.

"Cyanide? What's that?" She asked, bewildered, shaking her leek at an even faster speed.

"Poison. But good, you're innocent." I nodded approvingly at Hatsune Miku, who still looked just as confused, and I grinned, looking back at the stage.

"At second place, with a prize for a shop-all-you-can-for-free at the Vocaloid mart, we have Han Yu's group, The Bloodied Romance!" the executive announced, and a boy… Or so I think, with hair like a Viking Helmet's, down to his chin.

"That group was rated 7 for lyrics, 3 for originality of script, 10 for acting." SOUL said, sounding kind of bored, however, for sure, our group were gripping our seats. Michelle was making an odd sounding noise like-

"OOEOEOEOEOOE!"

Amy and Karina, from me turning around to observe part of the group, they were holding hands with each other, squealing and shaking their hands up and down. Mai and Zheng Yi and myself were apparently pretty calm. Allen in particular.

Now, the report on Vocaloids.

SeeU - "NYAN! NYAN! NYAN! ME WANT WIN! WIN! WIN!"  
>Miku – "NO! MY LEEK BROKE!"<br>Luka - …  
>Aki- E-EXCITEEEED~!<br>Len and Rin Kagamine- UWAAAH!  
>Neru Akita- …<br>Haku Yowane- Ahh… (And she buries her face in her arms)

The ones not mentioned are currently participating in the popular TV serial, LOST.

"In first place, the winner was clear the moment we set eyes on the rehearsal. The technical support, sound and lighting wise, was superb. The script, original, and the member-to-member bond, I'm proud to say, was beyond anything I have seen so far. The song titled…" The Crypton Executive stopped for a moment, and we held our breath. It was either make or break!

"Magnet! Please, may Nicole please come down!"

Our team literally started screaming. Even I jumped up and threw myself on- I mean, through, Haku Yowane, and my head collided on the chair, which caused everyone to start laughing.

"Will Miss Nicole please come down while we she collects the plaques of accomplishment on behalf of the entire team?" SOUL cheered, and our scores were projected onto the screen. 30 points. 10 for everything. Perfect score.

"Nicole! Go down! Now!" Karina shouted and jumped around on the chair, but that girl with white spectacles was nowhere to be seen. Nor was the ice-cream addict in winter clothing.

"Ahhh… Who go down then..?"

Suddenly, someone kicked the door open, and then there was like… those kind of foggy thing from dry ice flowing in, and because the room was dark, you can only see the silhouette of the person.

A girl was clearly there, her hair blowing, and she stood there for a moment while we all stared at her. Then, a guy walked up behind her, his scarf billowing… Like those traditional showdowns…

WAIT. Scarf?

"What are you guys looking at! Can you help us out?" The girl shouted, clearly exasperated, and we blinked, and the people seated at the front row rushed forward, flooding towards her.

"Is that Nicole?" Karina screeched, and we stared at her for a moment before crashing down, and the furthest we could get to was a few meters away due to the entire front row getting up to help in whatever she was asking for.

"No point squeezing, Miku. Take the vantage point." I said, and we ran back up, and after a while, we saw Hannah being carried in by 4 men. Two to restrain her and the rest to lift her. Meiko was being carried by eight vocaloids, and she was clearly struggling to get away from her grasp.

"Does Meiko-oneesan need that many people to carry her?" Miku asked me, rather loudly too, and I was about to answer when one of Meiko's hands got loose, and punched a male vocaloid onto the ground, and another male vocaloid got into place, wrestling with her hand and applying force on her elbow so she can't bend it and do FALCOOOOOOOOOOOOOON PUNCH!

"Ouch… He looks like he is in pain…" Miku said, and before I could stop her, she ran down to the Vocaloid, who was holding his nose. I ran after her and bumped into a boy, with emo kind of hair.

"Are you okay? Are you okay? Are you okay? Are you okay? Are you okay?" Miku said rapidly, kneeling on the floor and shaking the stunned Vocaloid excessively.

"Go away." The seemingly-owner-of-the-OWNED-vocaloid said, pushing Miku away, and I caught her, though my hands went through slightly, I looked up at the emo boy, thoroughly shocked. Her face was a complete look of surprise.

"She was just trying to help!" I said, slightly enraged, and he looked over, and gave a snort, and gestured for the Vocaloid to get up, and they went back to sit down, and I helped Miku up, to her seat. Yukina and Piko were there already, by some miracle squeezing her way through the crowd.

"Hey, Miku. You okay?" Piko asked, concerned and I raised my finger to my lips and shook my head, and Yukina gave Piko a tug, and he nodded.

"CALM DOWN EVERYONE!" the executive who had finished laughing boomed into the mic and everyone looked up.

"Can Miss Nicole please come and take the plaques for first position in the music project!" He said, half-laughing, while the other two men in big bad suits were grinning.

Nicole, from my point of view, she seemed to just stone there for a moment, before smiling a little and walking up the stage calmly and accepted a small box, bowing a little, and shook hands with the three executives, and bowed as the audience clapped.

"This group scores perfect score in everything. The rest of you would do well to learn from this group. Of course, learning from me is better but…" SOUL said, emphasizing the word, ME.

Nicole walked off the stage coolly, and up to us, and Kaito threw himself on her, hugging her, and Nicole simply smiled. Calm and composed.

"So, how does the plaque look like?" Karina tapped her from behind, and the next response from Nicole made me jump.

"Do Vocaloids have them too? Do we have them too?" Piko asked, rubbing his hands together anxiously, and suddenly, a plaque with their name on it appeared in their hands, and they cheered, minus Haku and Luka.

"IT'S AWESOME! OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOOOOOOOSH~!" She squealed, holding up a plaque and passing it to Karina and slowly distributing them. Our names were engraved on it, and it was… SHIIIINY…

"Arigatou, obasan!" I said to Nicole, and her Kaito's face sank.

"Do not call Nicole-sama that…" He growled, and I laughed as his over-protectiveness of Nicole.

"Being so overprotective is not good for the health." I commented, and suddenly, a whole lot of white hair barred my vision.

"Barzini-san! Plaque nicey!" Miku said, hugging the plaque, and shaking her legs up and down excessively.

"W-What devilry is this!" I said, and the hair retracted as quickly as it blocked my view. White hair.

"G-Gomenasai…" I heard Haku mumble and I smiled, waving it off.

"Hoi, Piko! Don't be so full of yourself! It's just first place!" Neru Akita said, looking away at this silly smile plastered all over his face.

"Haku and I won! Haku and I won!" He said gleefully, and Neru gave a "HMPH!" and looked away, glaring at Zheng Yi who quickly looked away.

"Also, in addition to the awards, the first prize winners will get to win a trip to Sapporo, Japan in an all basic expense paid trip, which includes food and accommodation, and a 30,000 Yen pocket money for the 8 day trip. Any objections from Nicole's group?" the executive said, and also asking the obvious.

I did my best imitation of the movie, the Inglorious Bastards.

"NEIN! NEIN! NEIN! NEIN! NEIN!"

Xxx

"I would suppose that this calls for a celebration." Luka said calmly, her arms folded, and we cheered upon her suggestion. We were all huddled up together as a group outside of the Music Hall.

"Guys, tell you what. Meet me, out back at the Barbeque pit behind the dormitories. We'll barbeque tuna!" I grinned, and the usually calm and outstandingly cool Luka lost it.

"T-TUNA! T-TUNA!" She said to herself, taking a large step closer to me with each syllabus (with me taking an equally large step back with each syllabus).

"Fish, fish! Nicey, nicey!" SeeU said, and Michelle grinned, patting SeeU on the shoulder.

"Yes! The Vocaloids can have them too!" I chirped, doing an irritatingly high voice, though Miku blew a raspberry at that.

"Not high enough! It must be like this!" She said, her voice going higher and higher in the sentence until it hurt your ears.

"B—But how? You mean buy from the canteen?" Mai asked, finally not staring at his PSP for once. Oh my goodness… I can see his eyes for once… I may leave this world in peace…

"Shh… Ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies." I winked, and grabbed Miku by the hand and pulled her away, valiantly defending her human friend from an all-tuna devouring… Luka!

"Argh… What day is today…?"

"Who said that?" Zheng Yi asked, looking around, and we shook our heads, until I felt a hand on my leg and I looked down.

There was a person there, covered in blonde hair, with bloodshot eyes, and her speech was slurred. Wait… That's a ghost!

"AH! AH! AH! GHOST! GO BACK INTO THE ABYSS!" I hastily took out my wallet which had a protective charm from the temple, wrenching my leg away, and slammed the wallet down onto the foul demon's head.

"BACK! BACK TO THE ABYSS!" I shouted, and kicked her back, and the person fell back with a groan, and her blonde hair moved to the side of her face… It was…

"Hannah!" Amy squealed, and rushed to her side, holding her up. Hannah's head had a reddish imprint of my wallet.

"W-Who a-attacked m-my owner?" Meiko who was still miraculously standing up, slurred and walked towards Neru.

"H—Hannah… Are you o-okay..?" She stuttered, and hugged Neru, who cried out and tried to pull out her katana, but the grip around her was too tight.

"Well, I'll leave you people to deal with your own problems. I'll go back and prepare. Meet me at 6pm at the BBQ pits!" I said, bowing to Hannah in apology before skipping away with  
>Hatsune Miku, who was apparently devastated with her broken leek.<p>

"L-l-leek…"

Xxx

"Barzini-san! Barzini-san!" Miku chirped, hugging her laptop, and jumping up and down on her vocaloid leek-shaped bed, the plaque bouncing up and down from the motion of her jumping.

"Yes? Yes?" I said, going over my shopping list, the plaque already on my end table, proudly displayed.

"What are you going to do at a barbeque pit? Barbeque leek?" She said excitedly, and I grinned.

"Miku, how are you at cooking?" I asked, and the cringing of the springs of the bed stopped for a moment.

"Cook? FUN!" Miku jumped on her bed again, and then jumped down onto the floor, and then skipped to beside me, her ridiculously long turquoise hair obscuring my vision of the piece of paper again.

"Yep! I'll use the app that I developed to duplicate the fish, and then you people can start cooking!" I said cheerfully, and Miku did some sort of jig.

"YAY! YAY! YAY! SUGOI!" She squealed hugging her leek plushie on the bed.

"Okay… I need to go grocery shopping first." I said, checking my wallet before stretching out my hand and gestured at Miku.

"We're leaving! Grocery shopping!" I said, and she smiled, and tried to hide a huge leek behind her back, her face puffed a little, looking at me with her eyes slightly narrowed, taking baby steps towards the door.

"No worries. I got no problems with you bringing the leek about. But someone needs to carry groceries!" I grinned, and Miku winked, leaning forward while doing that.

"Ah… Mortal… You forget you place. I am High Queen Hatsune Miku of Singapore. Bow to my might!" Miku said, holding her huge leek plushie over her head, and I frowned.

"That sentence is familiar… Have you been staying up to watch me play Skyrim again? How come I didn't notice?" I asked her, and her smile grew wider.

"Let's go shop, my servant!" Miku said, hugging her huge leek plushie, and I sighed, doing a little bow.

"Hai! Obasan!"

I wonder how it would really feel if the wrath of leek really descended upon you? I couldn't tell you how it felt when the Leek of Doom descended.

It went right through me.

Xxx

"HMPH! NTUC! FAIRPRICE! A GOVERNMENT MACHINE OF DECEPTION, MIKU!" I said as we walked to the supermarket.

"YOU MAY HIDE THE TRUTH FROM THE MASSES… BUT ONE DAY…"

"One day, you will get me leek everyday! Urusai!" Miku said, hitting me on the head with her leek plushie again. It didn't hurt but… Cute overload is not good in excess.

"Okay… We need leek… and cheese… Mozeralla cheese, bacon. And some like… Ice cream… And vegetables. Potatoes… Oh, some spices too!" I wowed, having not cooked for like… A month…

"We must walk through such a big supermarket? Miku lazy and Miku tired! BLEH!" She fell down purposely and clinged onto my shirt, making sounds like "BLERRRR!"

"Don't be so lazy, get- Get in that." I said, grinning as I saw a means of transportation.

"Get in what, Barzini-san! Miku tireeeed!" She wailed, apparently still clinging onto my shirt and she looked at where I was staring at.

A trolley.

"The Queen deserves to be pushed around!" Miku said, and I laughed.

"That came out a bit wrong. You mean I can bully you?" I grinned, and Miku smiled a little, bowing her head as she walked, her leek plushie in one hand, and seemed to have muttered something.

"I beg your pardon?" I smiled, and her face turned a bit stiffer, and redder.

"Only Barzini-san is allowed to." She said softly, and my face turned red a little. That was a typical line from them cheesy Korean dramas. I wonder if Miku had gotten hooked to any.

"Okay, get aboard the Vocaloid express please! First stop, Dairy Products." I said, mimicking those kind of broadcasts that you hear on trains.

"Go full speed ahead, Barzini! Choo~! Choo~!" She said, holding her leek high above her head.

She was weightless of course, so it was like pushing an empty cart at least.

We slowly cruised along the polished floors of the supermarket, Miku exclaiming at this item or that.

"Cheese, Barzini-san! There!" She pointed her leek there, and I nodded, pushing it over, and I picked up the mozzarella one.

"So, gourmet Barzini, how does the cheese fit into the recipe?" Miku asked, in a french accent, and I decided to play along.

"It iz very ze eazy. I zu not uze it for zour meal. Itz just for perzonal enjoyment because I love ze cheese a lot." I said in a terrible imitation of French and Miku stuck out her tongue.

"Leek! Leek! Cannot forget leek!" Miku said, her legs crossed, hugging her plushie as she said so, and I continued pushing the trolley down the aisle, and Miku's constant humming suddenly stopped, and I saw her bow her head.

"What's up." I said, stopping at the grocery section and picked up a potato.

"Mhm… Am I annoying?" Miku asked, putting her head on the edge of the trolley, her hands stroking her long hair absent-mindedly.

"Hmm… I won't say that you are. In fact, I'd insist that if I was hurt and someone asked me if I was alright, I would be grateful." I said, casting a potato aside. It had black ends and sunken spots.

"Then why did the owner call me annoying?" Miku asked, turning to face me and I absent-mindedly pick up another potato.

"Because there are weird people in this world who do not appreciate getting help once in a while." I said, satisfied with the potato and took a small bag of it and placed it into the trolley and continued pushing it down the grocery aisle.

"Then should I continue to help people?" Miku asked, and I laughed.

"Good question. I would say yes. When we help others, it is conscience at work. If they indeed need our help, then being happy is an added bonus along with satisfying your conscience. If you don't help, and they end up actually hoping you would help them, you would feel guilty." I said, stopping beside some stalks of leek.

"That is a good stem of leek. Take my advice for it. And what if they don't need your help?" She asked, pointing at the leek.

"Okay, you saved me sometime, thank you. Well, if they don't need your help, they can be all mean about you being annoying. But remember, you won't be guilty. And one day, maybe, they'll come back just needing help." I said, and Miku scratched her head and seemed to think about it for a while.

"Don't worry. Deep thoughts need time to process." I said, picking up some tomatoes, and then a bag of peas.

"Where do all these deep thoughts come from?" Miku asked, and I shrugged.

"Well, life experience and waste some time googling instead of Facebook. Or read Confucius. Notable authors? Well… Either ones will do." I said, and Miku went, "OH~!" hugging her leek plushie again.

"Let's go on with the shopping , shall we?" I smiled, and Miku raised her leek.

"Full steam ahead! Choo~! Choo~!"

Xxx

Meanwhile, in the Home Economics room where students can cook for free…

"Ok, Barzini-san! Let's cook!" Miku said, in an apron, amidst sacks of groceries for humans and the vocaloid ones that I have cloned with my phone.

"Okay, Miku. First, wash the fish. Like this." I moved the fish to the sink and started scrubbing it gently, so that the skin of the fish will not come off.

"Gently! Gently!" I said, and Miku used extremely little strength in cleaning it that I doubt that even the skin will be clean.

"Okay… Miku… Not THAT gentle. A bit more force. WAIT! NO!" I said, as she scrubbed the entire skin of the fish off.

Take Two.

Cloning the tuna from the real thing again.

"Yes… Good Miku… Good job." I applauded a little as she did it correctly, and she was smiling.

"Okay… Now, knife work. Hold up your blade, and slice it sideways. Big slices, but make sure it is one clean stroke. So, when the knife goes through the meat, hold the top, and bring the knife across." I said, cutting off a rather thick piece of tuna.

"BARZINI-SAN! I CUT MY FINGER!

Take Three.

"Slowly… You're not Neru cutting it with a katana." I said, my heart aching for that plaster around her finger.

"Just make sure you have a firm hold on the meat, and then just cut it through in one brutal slice… Like how Shana… MWAHAHAHAHHAHAA!" I roared, and Miku looked at me.

"Barzini-san different from usual…" She whimpered.

Take Four.

"Okay, place the tomatoes on a grill, then rub some canola oil on it. Then okay… Place the pepper onto the grill as well… No not the crushed one! The whole one!" I said, looking at Miku who blundered for a moment.

"Okay, leave it there until the skin blisters. Let's prepare the leek." I said, and Miku cheered, jumping up.

"Okay, trim the top of the leek, then bring the blade down centre. Then put it in the salted boiling water…" I said, chopping it till it reaches the root, then gently putting it into the water. Miku would have potential as a cook. Really.

"Okay, take the tomatoes off, and put it in a bowl… Then wrap it up with foil. Let it cool." I said, turning my attention back to the grill, and bearing with the stinging heat of the tomato and pepper and wrapping it in.

"HOT! HOT! HOT!" Miku said, and in pain, she threw the tomato up, and it landed in the bowl. We looked at each other.

"I got skills, Barzini-san!"

Take Five.

"Right, for the leek now, let it run under cold water now." I said casually, turning on the tap and placing the leek under it, and Miku did the same, sizzling sounds could be heard.

"Now, put it on a plate, and spray some canola oil on them." I said, picking up the spray and giving it two gentle squeezes.

"Okay, leave the dish at that, now, take the tomato and pepper, and peel their skins, place them into the blender. Okay, then you pour in orange juice and lime juice. Later, add some salt and pepper. On button!" I said, and the blender started shaking as I held down the pump for everything to blend together. While her vocaloid blender was shaking out of control.

"BARZINI-SAN! Tasukete!" She cried out, and the blender's grip shot up, and a piece of a tomato flew out and hit her on the face…

Take Six.

"Okay, grill the tuna." I said, placing the piece I previously cut out onto the grill and it sizzled.

"Hai!" She flung it onto the Vocaloid grill and the whole thing fell forward and crashed onto the floor.

Take Seven.

"Put the tuna on the leek, and then take the sauce we made, and put a few spoonfuls on it." I said, and Miku imitated, and then smiled.

"Seikou!" She said, and picked up a fork and spoon, and sat down, eyeing the fish.

She cut out a small slice of the fish and with the fork, placed some sauce on it and put it in her mouth. I awaited her verdict.

"O-Oishii! Oishii!" Miku cried out and took another bite and closing her eyes, squealed.

"Really?" I grabbed a spoon and placed a small bit of the fish in my mouth and I sighed in relief.

Cooking never goes away even after a while after all!

Xxx

"Yo mate. Rin is just behind. And what's that I smell?" Amoz said, sniffing the air and I grinned.

"Just the sauce. You guys grill your own fish. I did the rest already." I said, and Amoz nodded approvingly.

"Been a long time since we had a BBQ together!" Amoz said, and we heard a loud scream, and we turned. I had the shock of my life.

A steamroller was descending upon us! Quick! Battle stations! Miku was running for her life!

"KAGAMINE RIN! NO ORANGES FOR LATER!" Amoz bellowed, and Rin hopped off the steamroller and pouted.

"You people are boring." She said coolly, straightening out her ribbon.

Shortly after, the rest of the group turned up, together, heaving one huge chest. Meiko was being carried by the vocaloids.

"Why are you people together?" I asked, and Mai glared at me, and SeeU raised her paws.

"Well? Hannah is still drunk right now, in this chest. And you just left! You better have some good food ready!" Mai said, and Luka nodded, slightly red faced and panting

SeeU was walking up to Miku, her paw raised, and Miku had a leek in her hand.

"Nyan! You never helpy!" She said threateningly, and I assessed the situation before it hit me.

"Amoz, why didn't you help?" I asked, and Amoz stuttered.

"I-I well… I was busy!" He stammered, and the rest rounded on him.

"HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO US! TRAITOR! DESERTER!" Neru screamed and pulled out her katana and Rin gulped, climbing back into her steamroller and starting her getaway vehicle.

"Okay guys! Chill! Hungry and thirsty?" I said loudly and the answer was unanimous.

"YES!"

"Who wants some tuna?" I asked, and Luka's glowering face brightened up immediately, along with SeeU.

"Okay people! Tuna is sliced up in that ice box over there, along with ones for the Vocaloids. And, drink wise, there is orange juice, Coca Cola, and milk for us and Vocaloids as well in the other ice box! Please grill your own tuna, and when you're done, place them on the plate with leek on them, and then please take the disposable cutlery there, and then proceed to where I will be standing. I will then pour the sauce onto your fish." I clapped my hands together and stood at a makeshift table.

There was a loud cheering and everyone started getting busy, but it was orderly, minus Neru forcefully telling Zheng Yi to let her go first with her hand on the katana.

Miku went to stand beside me to wait for pouring of the sauces for the vocaloid, and I looked at her.

"Aren't you gonna at least get something to eat?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"You are not eating. I am not eating. We suffer together and enjoy the good times together!" She said, in all maturity and smiled at me, prompting me to smile back.

"Miku! Hurry!" Luka rushed forward with the plate with like 5 pieces of tuna on it, her eyes watering.

"Hurry… Please… I want to cry…" Luka whispered, and Miku, trembling, poured 5 pieces worth of sauce we made onto it, and Luka whispered, "Thank you…" and she didn't even bother using cutlery-

Using her hand, she took a huge bite off a piece, and her tears flowed.

"My compliments to the chef…"

"Oh yes! Nicole and Kaito! Ice cream in that freezer!" I shouted, and bowed to Megurine Luka.

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>Finally done! No, I'm not dead. Sorry for such a late update. I'll go into a brief explanation anyway… Well, we (Nicole and myself) were preparing for the next stage of our lives, further studies. We just finished exams and were picking a school, doing interviews… Etc. Etc… No, I did not forget you people!<strong>

**Well, now that I'm done with this 12,826 words chapter, I would like to thank all of you for reading and please stay with us! More fun is to come! Oh leave a review so that we know that we haven't lost you guys! Bye! Oh Nicole would like to say something!  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Hi! Well, it's my first time really translating anything from English to Jap…cos well mostly it's the other way around, esp when I read manga. So sorry for any mistakes in the spelling and grammarsentence structure/particles/etc. it's my fault solely…feel free to tell me where my mistakes are as I'm still learning Japanese…arigatou ne! Mata! (It seems that the CEO of Crypton adopts an informal tone, so I went with that as mush as possible…)**

** Thats it from her! Bye!**


	10. Chapter 10

I woke up with a jolt, Japan! I can't believe we were going! Finally (well in a week but then again Japan)! You could consider that I was up early cause I was just too excited to sleep. Washing up I heard Kaito stir from the other room, I glanced at the clock as I walked out of the shower toweling dry my hair…the blue dial flashed, 7:30am. I frowned, Kaito should have been up by now…I walked to his adjoining room, and he was no where? But I did hear something…then the sheets on his bed moved, ok…I was seriously freaking out, I grabbed my hardcover book on the desk in defense, for the second time in my life my vocaloid went missing and there was something else in his room?

Then a tuff of blue peaked out from the bottom of the sheets, I lowered my book a little. This was getting stranger and stranger. Then a head and a hand and a leg! Then Kaito…or I think it was Kaito tumbled onto the floor in his blue PJs…and landed on his bottom.

I crouched down in front of him, he rubbed his eyes and looked up at me. I squealed! Haha! I just couldn't help myself! Kaito was chibified right in front of my eyes, too cute!

He stared at me then he stared at himself, then realization and panic hit him, "Nicole! Why am I so near the floor! And did you suddenly grow tall at night?"

I moved to the side, so that he could see himself in the floor length mirror.

"I'm…small?" he asked his reflection then he moved so close to the mirror that he bumped into 'himself', then he looked up at me again, "what's going on?"

"I have no idea…" I started, then I giggled, "…but you look so cute now…" I patted him on the head, then I burst into fits of laughter again.

I took a glance in his direction and saw that he had crossed his arms and wasn't looking too amused.

"Ok…ok…" I said, doing my best to stop laughing, then an announcement sounded out though the overhead speakers.

_Good morning! Students and vocaloids of Crypton's School of the Future, as some of you may already know, all vocaloids as well as vocaloid items have been chibified due to some technical glitches in the system, please do not worry as we are trying to fix this within the next three days, so do not be alarmed, lessons will proceed as per normal. Thank you._

"Well now we know what's going on!" I commented trying hard not to laugh.

He tried to stand, but fell right back down cause he was not used to his chibi form, after a few tries he finally got the hang of it though.

He grabbed his clothes for the day and hopped off to the bathroom, when he said in a panicky voice, "I can't shower!" I popped my head into the bathroom. Now this was a problem…if I turned on the bath shower for him it would be like a tsunami hit him and that wouldn't be good, I turned one full circle then I stopped facing the sink…the sink…

"Why not try the sink…and I'll help you turn on the tap?" I suggested.

"Mmm…okey!" Then I scooped him up on my palm and placed him on the ledge near the sink.

"Uh…okay…I'm going to on the tap and go get my books for today…okay…so…err…you just do whatever you normally do…" I said, a little awkward.

Xxx

I slung my backpack over my shoulder, and I heard Kaito calling from the bathroom, "Yep wassup?" I said.

"Help me off the tap!" he said, tip toeing and trying to reach the handle to turn it off, he looked like he was on the verge of slipping off the edge.

Stepping quickly, I flicked the taps off. "Hop up!" I said offering my palms.

"This is nice! Ice cream!" he exclaimed, pointing toward the fridge, changing direction, he was seated in the palm of my hand when I put him next to the sensor where he scanned his hand and managed to open the freezer. I propped up the door with my book and left him to find his desired flavour of ice cream. I turned to go get some green tea for the morning, pouring the hot water into my cup, I heard the slam of the fridge door, I held the cup gingerly as I made my way to where Kaito was, and for the second time this morning he was missing again, but if he had closed the fridge door, then he should be outside...unless…wait…I heard the door slam…I looked down the book was on the floor...oh crap! I hurriedly opened the fridge door.

"Kaito! Are you ok?" I exclaimed as I opened the door Kaito tumbled out holding a tub of chocolate aisu shrunk down to his size of course, catching him in my hand, I placed him next to my hot cup of tea.

"F-freezing…and I didn't know that there were no lights when fridge doors are closed…" he replied, warming his hands on the surface of my cup.

I sat down in the chair, "I'm so sorry…I'll make sure that you are out next time any door shuts…" I stared at my drink feeling bad, then I got up went to the fridge an picked an apple, then I picked one box out of my many tsubu tsubu pocky and tore open the pack and started munching, this was the typical breakfast by the way, if you were wondering. Except you could say that today's breakfast would be shrouded in gloom with me huddled in some corner if this was an anime. Yes, I get down if I feel bad.

"Nicole-sama…it's ok…" he finally looked up and said. "Don't worry! I wasn't scared at all! And a little cold doesn't really hurt, and I have my scarf, see!" he said holding up a blue stripped scarf that I recently bought him. He was so sweet trying to make me feel better.

I smiled wanly, and murmured, "Thanks."

Then he looked around his scarf swishing from side to side, the furrowing his brows he hugged his ice cream tub and said in a burst, "You know!"

Snapping my attention from my pocky to him I said, "No…I don't know…"

"Well…" he began, "…remember you said that Barzini was in all those horrible groups…"

He was? I thought to myself when? Then I remembered! Oh ho! The spy game! He continued! This is war!

"Ah…yes…why?"

Then he started telling me what Barzini told Miku who told him what the 'real' truth was and when he got to the Willy Wonka part, I was doing my best trying not to laugh. When he finished he looked up at me expectantly, waiting for an answer. "Well..." I stalled. Then a light bulb went off in my head, why not rope in Kaito to trick Miku and get Barzini over there in a sticky mess. Did I really want to do that? But he did start it…

I sighed, "Well…you see…I'm technically a double agent in another organization that is sworn against all these acts…which was why I used to be in the same group as Barzini is now in the first place…and the assassination of Willy Wonka was not done by me but by my partner…" I heard Kaito gasp, then I put my hand up, "But! It was necessary as Barzini is actually a master at mind control and Mr. Wonka was compromised and under his influence and actually wanted to stop all production of chewy chocolate," I said with emphasis, knowing that chewy chocolate was one of Kaito's favourite ice cream flavours, without pausing I grabbed a pocky from my box, "and you know what his plans are now…" placing my hands at both ends of the pocky I broke it into two.

"No…" Kaito said.

I nodded sadly nibbling on one end of the pocky, "Yup…their plans are now to break all pocky…that's why he wanted to get close to me in the first place…there now you know everything…"

"…" He messed up his hair with his hands, "Nicole-sama! Why are you involved in such dangerous things! How will I…nevermind…" then picking himself up using his hands, he asked, "I should warn Miku about Barzini-san's mind control!"

I nodded gravely at his statement. His eyes went out of focus for a while.

"Done~! I PMed Miku…" Kaito told me.

"Well…I think we should go now…" I said, of course I was just anxious cause I wanted to see the other vocaloids chibified too, call me biased but Kaito is the no. 1 cute and I know it!

"Kait-" I called, then I remembered, he couldn't get down from the table by himself. "Mmm…you wanna sit on my shoulder?" I offered. He nodded. Scooping him up, placed him on my shoulder, "Is it ok?" I asked. "Yup!" he quipped.

I stepped out of my room, outside was a chaos as usual, but more so today. I was just going to take one more step when a voice said, "Wait! Stop! Halt!" my foot half in mid air I looked down, it's was Aki! Then Amy hurried over, "You know for a second there I seriously thought you were going to step on her..."

"Well how about you carry her?" I said, vowing at the same time to be more vigilant for any chibi vocaloids walking around.

"Good idea!" Amy picked Aki up placed her on her shoulder like I did with Kaito.  
>We were walking to class and I asked, "Where's Yukina?"<p>

"Eto...I think she left early for some Lit project she was supposed to do..."

I was going to reply when, Aki started making weird gestures, shaking her head wildly at Kaito. I looked down…

He dripped aisu on my shoulder...

Well now he was frantically trying to rub it out but he was just making it worse, "Ok ok...stop!" I exclaimed.

"Nicole-sama…" Kaito said, I turned and saw that his big blue eyes were shiny.

"You know what? I'll go back and get another shirt….tell Mr Ng that I'll be late…" I said to Amy. Nodding she hurried off.

Turning to Kaito I picked him up and placed him on my palm and said, "Hey! Don't be upset…it's ok…I'll just get another shirt!"

He rubbed his eyes and looked up at me.

I was thinking that I was going to die from his cuteness, "Do a headstand if you can't hold in the tears!" remembering the line from a Taiwan drama. I finally reached my room, unlocking the door, I kicked it shut behind me.

I sat him down on the table and took a seat on my chair, "It's ok…don't be upset or gloomy cause of this okay!"

He curled up in a ball, "B-but…Nicole-sama will be late for class…" he said in a whisper.

"You know what…being late won't kill me…and besides…you'll be gloomy about the shirt the whole day if I don't change right? And we definitely can't have that…"

"Okay…" he mumbled still not looking up.

"You know what…I'm gonna be as frank as possible…my responsibility is to you and so if you are upset that makes it my problem too…"

I looked down at Kaito hoping that he understood what I was trying to get at. Instead he had a horrified expression on his face, "That means every time I'm upset…I'm hurting Nicole-sama too!"

"Uh…" Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that…

"I'm not going to ever be upset again!" he announced. Well, ok…I was hoping for something like that…but definitely not in this way. Argh! But nevermind, so long as he not in the gloom.

"Okay! But if you ever have any problems…you just tell me okay!" I popped him on my hand and we got some ice cream from the fridge, setting him down on the table I turned to my room to change.

Xxx

I ducked at the classroom windows, creeping towards the classroom door, leaning my back against the door, I took a deep breath, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kaito taking one too, then bracing myself, I rapped hard on the door three times and stepped in, "I'm sorry I'm late!" I announced bowing at the same and shutting the door behind me.

"Nicoleee" Mr Ng, started and dragged out my name, I winced at what was to come and also for my poor ears who were adjusting to the crazy pitch again. "Thank you, for at least knocking the door…" he continued, "But~!" he barked, "You are still late~!" once again he dragged out the last syllable, his voice changing pitch to what I thought was a minor key.

I was shuffling on the spot now…

"SO~!" he switched the key back to normal, "please do the sum on the board…or else…"

I stared, not quite grasping the suddenness of his request.

"Nowwwww…" he dragged once more, this time in a very nasal voice.

I snapped to attention and walked stiffly to the board, I saw Kaito burring his head in him hands trying not to show an upset face because of what I was subjected to since I was late, "No worries…" I whispered in assurance. Looking up at the board, I saw the diagram and the topic and smiled, Geometrical proofing…easy…I had this in the bag! It was my favourite topic and I read the chapter wayyy before hand.

I stared at the diagram for a while, twirling the marker about my fingers, then I started, "…therefore, since PQ / AD, by intercept theorem…and since =AB2 by tangent secant theorem…" I mumbled while frantically trying to decipher the patterns in the diagram, "There! Proven!" I said triumphantly finishing off the last part of the question with a flourish, capping the marker with a click, I twirled it around my thumb and handed it back to Mr. Ng.

Sure I was a little smug, but I couldn't help it ok! I heard Kaito heave a sigh of relief.

"Not~! Bad~! You may sit!" Mr. Ng said in undulating tones again.

Taking my seat, Aki asked softly, "How! How did you do it! He didn't even give you any guiding questions to help you, like it normally is asked! He just went straight to the final question! I really thought you were in for it!"

"Well…consider it my mystical eye powers of figuring out patterns in circles and triangles…" I said mysteriously.

"Hehh! Okay!" Amy said.

"Nicole awesome!" Kaito quipped.

"Back there~! Don't talk!" Mr. Ng snapped at us. We fell into silence.

Xxx

Lesson finally ended, with me ending up with one more piece of assignment for being late.

I slid down on the desk my hands sticking out, "…More homework…" I groaned.

Kaito crossed his legs on the table and rested his chin on his hands, "Gambatte!" Well, I guess it was good to see that he was not glooming like he normally would have.

"So what's up with being late today?" Zhengyi came up to me, Neru was propped up on his head trying not to look interested, "Normally, I would have been the late one…"

"Uh…don't ask…" I waved him off.

"Hungry! Lunch!" Aki exclaimed.

"Now that you mention it…to the canteen people!" Amy said grabbing Zhengyi and my wrist and dashing out of the classroom, effectively dragging us along.

"Waii~!" Kaito said in shock as he scrabbled for some handholds before he got flung off, I saw Neru holding on to Zhengyi's hair.

Xxx

Ordering our food, I got some Soba for myself and Ramen for Kaito together with some maccha ice cream.

"Yo~! Over here!" a familiar voice called, taking deep breaths, I turned to find Garcia waving. Nori was…I have no idea…

Sitting at their table I noticed, Marcia was also there along with another girl (who had a Japanese traditional tea set all set up at the table, tea enthusiast?) and what I presumed was her vocaloid.

"Nice to meet you! Nicole! And this is Kaito…" I said sliding Kaito on the table, taking in her appearance, long dark-blue hair, tied in a low ponytail and her blue eyes were framed by white specs much like mine. Her vocaloid on the other hand had a Gakupo kind of hairstyle except it was black and a pair of black chopsticks held up his ponytail, he had black eyes with silver half-framed glasses and sported a white version of Kaito's earphones on his ears. He was wearing a black unbuttoned coat with long sleeves that were rolled up to his elbows and a white shirt with the top few buttons unbuttoned which was tucked into his black pants.

"Hajimemashite! Karen! And this is Yuki!" she replied.

"Yuki…is that…"

"Yup…Haru and Nori's older brother…"

The two vocaloids stared at each other for a while, when Yuki ran up to Kaito and said, "We are gonna be bros!"

Looking a little taken a back Kaito and Yuki eventually sat together and started talking.

"Congrats on getting tops for the music project!" Garcia said.

"You too!" I said in reply.

Next to me, Neru was pounding Zhengiyi's head, "Put me down! Put me down!"

"Alright! Alright!" Zhengyi picked up Neru and sat her on the table. I looked at where Neru was gazing at, she was looking at Yuki? An admirer maybe?

Then suddenly, "AHHHH~~~!" I looked up at the source of the noise and found Nori flying…no you didn't read wrong he was flying…

"Save me~!" he was starting his descent and was failing his arms about attempting to no make a crash landing.

"Gottcha!" Garcia said as she caught Nori, "What experiment did you get yourself into?"

"Well…it's my latest experiment!" Haru replied, flying though the air too and handing on his feet on the table. "With that last experiment…I have perfected the angle of elevation for my contraption to launch my chibi self at the perfect right arc on to tables of this height so that I don't die." ending in a frank statement.

"So does that mean I don't have to help you up on tables anymore?" Marcia asked her vocaloid.

"Yup!" Haru replied.

"That's awesome!" Marcia said high fiving her vocaloid.

"I could use that…" I think I heard Zhengyi mumble that. Too bad for him Neru caught that statement, and let's just say he ended up apologising profusely.

"Try not to bully my littlest brother over there will you…" Yuki sighed to Haru.

"Well…what's done is done, niisama!" Haru retorted in reply.

"But sti-" Kaito started wanting to be of some help, but was shot down by Haru in a look that looked evil almost.

Drinking her green tea, Karen commented, "I think you better take good care of Kaito now…"

I gave her a questioning look.

"He just gave him the evil stare…" Nori said, "…I'm so sorry…" bowing his head in solemn silence after that.

My eyes widened, "What? What's gonna happen!"

"Haru is probably going to use him as a lab rat!" Yuki said whipping out a sake bottle a pointing it toward the ceiling.

"EH~! So…but…wait…ok…but you are his new found bro right?" I asked Yuki.

"Well…I am…"

"So aren't you going to save him or something!" I asked anxiously.

"I would…but…too late," was the reply as I followed Yuki's thumb down to the floor, Kaito had some how got off the table and was tied up! And he was being dragged by Haru to his weird contraption from before…oh crap…I was thinking…

"Nicole-sama!" Kaito squealed as he shot out from the contraption curled in a ball.

I stood up knocking the chair down, "Ok! I got it!" Catching Kaito like how I would catch a baseball.

I looked up from my catching stance, and saw Yukina clutching her book to her chest and holding a box of pocky in the other, "What…are you doing?" she asked tilting her head to the side.

"Uh…I was…um…just catching Kaito…" I said sheepishly, then narrowing my eyes at Haru, "…cause he got shot dangerously from a machine…"

"Thanks of catching me Nicole!" Kaito said gratefully.

"Ah…ok…" Yukina answered, nodding.

"Where's Piko?" I asked.

"Right there!" she said, pointing down. Lowering my gaze, I saw Piko holding a book reading and pushing along one of the library carts.

"Library cart?" Zhengyi raised one eyebrow.

Piko looked up and answered practically, "It was finally small enough to push around with me at all times so that I don't have to keep going back to get more books…we just came down for a snack anyway…"

"Uhhuh…so where Mai!" Garcia asked Yukina.

In reply she fiddled her thumbs, in a poor imitation of Mai and his PSP.

"Heh~ he was supposed to show me his new game!" Garcia pouted.

The warning bell for the start of the next period sounded, "well…ok…I better get going…" Yukina said.

"See you in choir practice later!" I waved back, yes…I managed to convince her to join last week!

The rest of the day was manageable, only the problem was the fact that the vocaloids chibified sure they were cute (Kaito was twirling about on my desk when I was bored during Geography class) but, I ticked off the list I was quickly forming in my head...

You have to watch where you step…or you'll end up like me almost stepping on Aki this morning.

You have to remember that they can't follow you if you put them on table they can't get down from…remember this morning…

When your vocaloids need to get things from high up places…you either need to be tall enough to support your vocaloid or you have to stack a lot of thing so that they can climb.

Touch activated items like the fridge was a huge hassle.

And most of all taking a bath was dangerous…recount this morning…

List to be continued…

Xxx

"Quick...quick!" I mumbled to myself, scribbling madly on my scores.

It was nearing the end of the day, only Choir practice was left and it starts in half an hour. I was supposed to fill in the solfege for the twelve page score and attempt to sight-sing it later, but obviously, I was already running out of time. Kaito was helping me a lot by telling me what major or minor key each page starts with and was identifying all the key changes for me in the song. It kinda made me wonder how I even did his without his help before…

"Andd! Done!" I exclaimed, checking the time, I had ten minutes to rush to the choir room.

Placing Kaito on my shoulder, I exited my room and walk briskly to the practice room, humming the tune softly to myself trying to internalise what I could.

"Nicole-sama!" Kaito said from my shoulder leaning in as far as possible to see the score, "it should be like this for bars 40-45…" he hummed it out.

Eyes scanning the page, "Yup you're right thanks partner!"

I was still looking intently at the score when someone bumped into me nearly causing Kaito to lose his balance…there! See! I added mentally too my list, point number 6, bumping into people can now be life threatening to vocaloids.

"Nicoleeee!" Karina squealed, and she hugged me tightly.

"Uh…Rina…you are crushing me!" I said using her pet name.

Len who was sleeping on her head, sat up sleepily at the commotion and gave a small wave.

We entered the choir room together. The choir room was actually a 180 degree viewing galleria which overlooked the school's garden, with glass window planes that reached ceiling high and had a few raised steps along one side and a grand piano in one corner.

"Yo!" Yukina said in greeting as we entered. Our choir was small, only 15 people and well it was all made up of girls so far…though of course the vocaloids could always help for the Bass and Tenor bits. Our conductor insisted that be sing SATB scores…Most of our songs were acapella, seeing that we were small, it was a perfect fit.

We were getting into our rows, when the door swung open with a bang.

"No! No! NO!" our conductor, Sir Tay (or at least that's what he said we are supposed to call him though I honestly think he's living in the wrong century…like what is he?...trying to role play as a knight or something?) , screeched when he saw that we were in rows, he was wearing a three piece suit and his champagne coloured tailcoat jacket was flapping behind him. As we stared on as we watched our conductor get on one knee and somehow produced a rose from nowhere and held it sideways in his mouth, then he clapped his hands twice and said, "Today! We dance!" Well, ok…if you thought that was dramatic you should have seen when he came in last week in a knights costume complete with a sword and started giving out scores for a Japanese song…talk about no link…ok…I'm rambling…

"He can't be serious…" Len said incredulously.

"I know right…but considering last week…" Kaito replied in a whisper, eyeing the conductor.

"I'm here!" a blonde haired girl flew into the room and stopped midway at the entrance, she was wearing casual clothes and a pair of head phones hung around her neck and on her right hand was a yellow wrist band, much like Mai's I was thinking, slowing down I saw Gakupo hanging out from the pocket of her shirt, she looked around questioningly, "So…did I miss anything?"

"Well…we are supposed to dance…" Piko answered.

"But I thought this was the choir where people sing?" she questioned back.

Our conductor stamped his feet and whined, "NO! We are going to dance! And since you are new, come introduce yourself!"

"The name is Toey! And this is Gakupo!" the girl said, plucking the Hakama - Jinbaori clad vocaloid from her shirt and placing him on her head.

"Fantastic, my dear~!" the conductor exclaimed, presenting Toey with his rose, "now, we shall demo for the rest!" Grabbing Toey's hands he pulled her into a dancing stance.

"Now one two three, one two three, and two and two…and one!" he chanted as the pulled Toey in a whirl across the room. Half way he snapped his fingers and the piece of music we were supposed to sing played throughout the room.

"There! People that's how you do it! Now follow!" And he dragged me, earning a look of distaste from Kaito, and partnered me with Toey as he paired up the rest.

"Hi!" I said while dancing, "I'm Nicole and over here is Kaito."

"Hi! Isn't this the choir?" she asked back.

"Well," I said taking a turn, "it is…don't ask me how it ended up like that…he was more normal the last practice…but maybe that's cause we didn't really do any singing yet…more of like a get to know you session"

"I see…I kinda just transferred here that's why I missed the first practice…" Toey replied, I turned my head a little and found Kaito bobbing along to the music.

Gakupo on the other hand had 'stabbed' a katana in Toey's hair and was dancing around it a fan poised in his hand. He should trade katana secrets with Neru I thought to myself.

"Ne~! Where's Luka?" Gakupo asked Toey.

I raised my voice a little, "If you are looking for Luka…she's with Mai…"

The grip on my hand tightened and I winced, "Mai…you know Mai?" Toey asked.

I nodded, "Uhhuh…hand!" I said, she relaxed her grip, then looked at me expectantly, Gakupo had stopped dancing and was listening. I was thinking…what does she have to do with the PSP loving boy…don't tell me…she transferred…no…I don't think so…

"Well…uh…" I started, then Kaito cut in lying flat out on my shoulder, "Mai-san was in our group for the last music project…and he takes Lit. major…so yes we know him…"

"I see…" Toey replied, then the music cut off.

"No talking! Feel the beat! Dance the dance!" the conductor shouted at us from across the room. We fell into an easy silence, I let myself relax and feel the music, picking out the harmonies and melodies, my pitch sensitive ears teasing out the chords. Then it ended fading off, and everyone let out a collective breath, seemed like I wasn't the only one into it. Later I found out that the song was actually looped five times…crazy music teacher…

"That was good!" our conductor clapped his hands, and he continued and said, "now we will sing with solfege!" the starting note rang out from the piano.

We scrambled for our scores and I shared mine with Toey.

As we sang, I was slight-singing the piece as well as I could with Kaito humming some bars to help me along, I realised that the dancing steps matched the basic rhythms though out the piece and made sub dividing the trickier parts of the song much easier.

"Okay! Everyone! Lie down~!" the conductor cried out midway through the song.

We scrambled to obey, I carefully put Kaito on the floor before lying down next to him, still singing.

Our conductor had also followed suit, his hands up in the air giving us beat and time as we stared up at the ceiling, then nearing the end of the song, he cut us off together in a flourish.

"That was good!" he said, his voice sounded out though the room, "Now we can go back into your rows! Toey shall join Nicole's section."

"Dozo yoroshiku," Gakupo said with a bow next to me.

"No prob!" I said back inclining my head.

We sang the song one more time, it was almost perfect in technique and rhythm, and called it a day, honestly it was the fastest I've ever learned a song.

"For being such a lovely bunch you shall all get flowers!" our conductor said with a huge gesture and roses started flooding out from nowhere.

"What is he? A magician?" Kaito exclaimed, looking around for the source of the flowers.

"Beats me all I know is that he's one good conductor," I breathed back.

By the time, the barrage of roses ended, Sir Tay…I thought drily to myself, was nowhere to be found…just as well I suppose…

Tapping me on my shoulder Karina's eyes sparkled as she said, "The lying down really made me work my abs muscles!" Now that she mentioned it, it was true…it was only now that I realised that my muscles were aching from the singing and dancing.

"Nicole-sama is hurting?" Kaito tugged on my sleeve.

"Eh! No…I'm just fine…only if it hurts then you know that you are singing from the right place and using your full gut power and not your throat voice to sing…doesn't that apply to you too?" I explained and ask back.

He shook his head and said curiously, "Nope, we are born to sing, so obviously we don't consider where we sing from is right or wrong. We just sing."

"Lucky~" I said back.

I looked around and frowned, "Where's Toey?"

"I think I saw her go off with Yukina…" Karina said. Went off to go find Mai?

"Wanna grab dinner with me?" I asked my childhood friend.

Xxx

I waved bye to Karina and Len, Kaito was being extra careful of his ice cream he was eating on my shoulder.

"Haaa~…" I sighed, thinking about the extra math homework, making my way back to our room.

"Let's not go back just yet…" Kaito said.

"Then where do you suggest? Honestly I'm so sleepy and tired, I can drop dead right now…" I commented, singing was not an easy feat ok! Especially when I had to learn dancing as well…not that I have two left feet…ok…I get carried away…

"Music hall! You haven't finished telling me the names of the stars!" Kaito proclaimed. I was surprised, well, normally he would have just given in to me, so I guess it's a nice change for him to want something…besides ice cream…

"Okay!" I quickly agreed.

Sneaking in through the back entrance of the hall, I sat at my usual seat reclined it so that I was facing the ceiling, seeing that her chair was too big for the current chibi Kaito I put him on the chair's armrest instead. I watched the galaxies swirl above me. Somehow whenever I was here, I always felt like there's someone watching.

"So which constellation…" I asked Kaito.

"How about that one?" he pointed his small finger.

"Andromeda…she was a princess in one of the Greek legends," I murmured.

"And that's Alpheratz the brightest star in that constellation and that same star is shared with the constellation Pegasus…" I continued, tracing out the pictures for him.

"I see…" he replied. We were always awed by how realistic the music hall managed to project the night sky.

Out of the blue I commented, "I've always liked Greek legends…especially their stories…"

"Tell me one," he asked simply.

"You sure? This will take some time…"

He nodded vigorously, "Tell me! And I'll give up aisu for tomorrow!" he said with great conviction.

I laughed, "No need to do that!"

Then I started my story.

_Once there was Pan, the Greek god of shepherds and nature. He was a great musician who was known for inventing the Greek pan flute. _

"How does that…pan flute…look like?" Kaito interrupted.

"Uh…good question…we can go search it up on google tomorrow…anyway continuing," I said hastily, well honestly, I only tell the story, that's it, nothing else.

_The sound of his music from his instrument was so good that he grew proud, and believed that he was greater than the chief musician of the gods, Apollo and so he challenged Apollo to a musical duel. Apollo agreed to the test, for he wished to punish Pan's vanity, although he was vain himself. The place where the competition was to be held was the mountain Tmolus, who was appointed the judge of the contest as well, for none was as old and wise as the hills._

"The hills can hear music?" Kaito exclaimed.

"Uh…well…I guess if you sing hard enough they can…" a smile played on my lips as I said that.

"I would like to try that someday…" Kaito said, breathing out in awe? Wonder?

I nodded, "Some day…"

Then I continued my story…

_When Pan and Apollo came before Tmolus for the duel, their followers came with them to hear. First Pan played; blowing on his reed pipes, and out came a tune so wild and yet so coaxing that the birds flew down from sky to the trees; the squirrels came; and the trees swayed as if they were in a dance. The fauns laughed aloud for joy as the melody tickled their ears._

"Fauns can laugh?" Kaito interrupted again.

"Figuratively! Figuratively!" I said, continuing to gesture with my hands in the air the scene of Pan playing.

_Then Apollo rose, and in his hands he held his golden lyre. When he touched the strings of the lyre, a tune that neither god nor mortal ever heard before starting playing. The wild creatures of the wood fell into silence; the trees kept every leaf from rustling; earth and air were quiet and not a whisper was heard. When Apollo stopped playing, it was like bidding sweet fairwell._

"Was it a sad song?" Kaito turned to look at me.

"I suppose so…or at least that's what it sounds like to me…" I said in reply.

_When the spell of Apollo's music was broken, the hearers all praised Apollo and proclaimed him the winner. All but Midas…_

"Midas?" Kaito questioned.

"Yup…um…you know the King who can turn anything into gold with one touch…"

Kaito cocked his head to one side, "Really?" then thinking for a while, "That's kinda sad…he can't he aisu cause it will turn into gold…"

"Yeah…maybe that story for another time…" I murmured back.

_All but Midas, who alone would not admit that Apollo's music was better than Pan's and foolishly expressed his disappointment with the results. So then Apollo, unhappy, touched the ears of Midas, and they grew long, pointed, and furry like those of a donkey. The end._

"That's it? It ended with donkey ears?"

"Yep…well at least that's how they told it to me…"

"You know I kinda feel sorry for Pan…" Kaito said sitting up.

"Really? But he was being boastful." I countered.

"Yes…but don't you think that he just wanted more people to listen to his music maybe? And I think Apollo is mean, just cause one person doesn't like you it's not the end of the world!" he argued back.

Well this was a different view…I never really considered that.

"Hmm…there is some truth in that…" I commented.

"I think I want more people to listen to me too…" Kaito mumbled back so softly I almost couldn't hear.

"People do listen to you…" I said back.

"People only listen to Miku…" he breathed out and said. Then in an even smaller voice, "And…I was considered a failure…"

I picked him up and placed him on my palm then I leaned in and said, "The world may not listen to you but at least there's always me…just like Midas right…the only one… but I'll still be there…" I was thinking he had more fans than he knew of…that I was sure.

"Thanks Nicole-sama…"

"You are always appreciated…remember that okay…"

He nodded, and added as an afterthought, "Though I like Nicole's ears just fine…"

Xxx

Getting back to our room, I helped Kaito on the taps and everything for the washing up.

Then I placed Kaito on his bed, he was practically swimming in the sheets.

"I think I might just suffocate and die under the sheets…" Kaito said some what morbidly.

"Uh…" I just stoned.

"Well…waking up this morning I felt like I was going to die…" he continued.

So…I added to my list point number 7…sleeping in oversized beds are deadly…

We needed an alternative sleeping place…I turned a full circle and thought.

I opened the fridge to get a cube of ice, popping it into my mouth I was going to crunch my ice, when I stopped and took out my ice cream tub, then I looked at his tub-like bed.

"Uh…Kaito…" I said looking down, from him to my ice cream tub.

"I get to sleep in an ice cream tub for real!" he said excitedly getting what I was trying to hint to him.

O~k~…and here I was thinking I wasn't such a great idea, but I guess for an ice cream abandoned lover…

I dished the remaining ice cream out into my cup, then I washed out the tub, grabbing the tiny pillows and cushion from my dolls that I brought from my house, I made some sort of bedding I guess, "Test!" I said.

He snuggled down and said happily, "Comfy! And you know, it still has the mango smell from the aisu. I wish my actual bed came with scent…"

"Right…ok so…where do you want me to put your bed…"

"In your room? Cause well mine looks kinda huge when I'm small…" he trailed off.

"Okey~! Good night!" I placed his makeshift bed on the bedside table and turned off the lights.

I pretended to sleep, then after hearing the steady sounds of my vocaloid breathing, I got up and wanted to creep into the other room and do homework, when he started talking, "Aisu~banana split…butter pecan…caramel cone…cherry vanilla…chocolate…chocolate chip cooookie dough…chocolate peanut butter…coffee…cookies and cream…crème brulee…" Was he naming Haagen Dazs flavoured ice cream…in alphabetical order! I continued listening, "…vanilla bean…vanilla chocolate chip…vanilla swiss almond…white chocolate raspberry truffle…aisu~banana split…" Looks like he ended his list and is starting again, then I crept into his side of the room, turned on the side lamp and started doing my homework while savouring my ice cream at the same time.

Xxx

"Nicole…"

Someone was calling me, why does my whole left side feel stiff, I opened my eyes and see a pen…pen…I woke up suddenly and banged my knee hard on the table.

Ow~! I rubbed my knee. Time! Time! I glanced at the clock, 8am…ok…ok…still good…I looked down…I slept halfway though the last question! Gotta finish it before Kaito wakes up…

Scrambling for a pen…Kaito said, "Nicole-sama!"

"Wha- yes?" I answered then I realised he was already awake, so much for that, pen poised on the paper, then my mind backtracked a little, "How did you get up on the table?" I asked.

"Um…I…err…threw the pillows in my bed down to the floor, then I jumped down and landed in them, then I walked over to the table and climbed up those…" he pointed down and I remembered that the side of the table was shaped like a ladder…honestly made me think those people at Crypton really intended it for chibi's…

"I see…wow…ok…you can go be a stuntman or something…" I joked, "lemme finish this math sum first…"

"It's…by similar triangles which can be proven by Pythagoras Theorem, " Kaito said out of the blue.

"You're right…" I said finishing off the sum, "Your math isn't that bad!"

"I was thinking of the triangles as chocolate waffles in an ice cream sundae and it made sense to me!" he said cheerily, "Now can we go get breakfast please!"

"Yup yup…" I said clearing up my homework and putting them in my bag, I changed and washed up then grabbed my pocky and sat down, today I gave Kaito a triangle waffle to go with ice cream…normally we saved it for our ice cream mega awesome sundae creations but ah well…

"You know I could have stayed up and kept you company…" he said licking his spoon.

"Nah…it's ok…but thanks!" I said back.

Xxx

Let's see, classes went pretty well considering that I wasn't late for any, and Mr. Ng didn't bug me after he saw that I aced the extra homework he gave me so that was, good, all I was doing now was to wait for the queue for the fishball noodle stall to get moving.

"Yo~!" Karina said cheerfully in my ear, Len on her head waved.

I turned, "Hi~!"

"Joining the queue?" I asked.

She nodded.

"What happened to Barzini and the gang?" I questioned.

"They'll come along…I just hurried down for the fishball noodle store…it always has a long queue…" Karina replied.

"Yea…long queue and they sell out so fast…" I lamented, Kaito was getting bored and playing with my hair.

Finally getting our food we sat at our usual table with Amy, Aki, Zhengyi and Neru.

"So how was your day?" I started, picking up my chopsticks and slurping up my noodles, I watched as Kaito did the same.

"Well! I slept in a paper-mâché treehouse that Amy made for me!" Aki quipped excitedly.

"Cool!" Karina commented.

"What about you guys?" I nudged Zhengyi.

"Well…" Zhengyi started, "…ever since Neru shrunk…I mean turned chibi…she got scar-" he was suddenly interrupted when Neru looked up from her instant noodles and threatened to stab him with her katana sitting on her head.

"You know what! Things have been awesome!" Zhengyi changed track and said.

"Huh…ok…if you say so…" I said back.

Then a voice came from behind, "We can sit here?"

"Yup of course! The more the merrier!" Amy said.

Yukina, Piko, Mai, Luka, Toey and Gakupo joined us…

Piko dined on his library cart, Luka was having tuna sandwiches, and Gakupo was eating eggplants with a side of rice.

I was going to ask another how's your day question when the floor started vibrating. The bowls started rattling, then right under our table, a glint of silver, then a drill-like thing came up from the hole in the ground. In the small glass cabin, was Haru and behind him was a very tired looking Nori.

Opening the glass door at the side, Haru hopped out and Nori…well he more like dropped out…

Then Yuki came running over, "Nori!" catching his brother in his arms.

"Haru! I think you really went too far…" Yuki reprimanded his other brother.

Then the three girls came running over too, "Came…as fast…as we could…" Garcia panted out.

Garcia bent down and plucked Nori from Yuki and left to get some water for her vocaloid.

"What was the crazy experiment this time, Haru-san?" Karen asked.

Turning on his scientific voice? Haru answered, "Well…since walking on the ground is now not safe for us…I devised away to dig underground and use a precise tracking system to get where I want…only thing is that it's powered by kinetic energy…which was why I needed Nori…"

"What? So you got your brother to go though all that just for this?" Aki asked.

"Sh~!" I said but too late!

Haru shot her that evil look…Kaito shook his head sadly and Yuki followed suit.

I think Amy was just going to ask what's going on when, the vocaloid items started shimmering, then they vanished all together. Then the canteen broke into murmurs of 'what happened', then and minute later, life size items started reappearing throughout the canteen. Especially obvious was Piko's library trolley which shot up suddenly.

Yup…looks like Crypton managed to solve the vocaloid items chibifying but not the vocaloids themselves.

Then the announcement bell rang…

_All vocaloid items, except clothing items have now been restored to normal size, please do not be alarmed, we trust that you will all be tenacious and adapt to this change while we fix the other glitches. Thank you._

I don't know if it was my imagination, but was the guy announcing smirking? Cause it certainly seem more and more likely that this was some Crypton plan to make vocaloids chibi's and their items not…just when you like it's tricky enough…they pull something else like this…

Then Barzini, Hannah, Amoz, Michelle and Allen along with their vocaloids and Garcia with Nori came, by then we had to join three tables to accommodate everyone.

Then Barzini commented, "Where is Kaito?"

My eyes scanned the table…where…there was only bowls an ice cream tub…ice cream tub! I quickly flipped the tub over and found Kaito inside, licking his fingers.

"That was good! I suddenly had an extra helping of aisu!" he exclaimed.

"Barzini awesome!" Miku said raising her hands.

"Where did that come from?" I asked.

"Nevermind where that came from…I'm awesome and I know it!" Barzini proclaimed.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10~! Haha! That was fast! Anyway thanks for reading! Arigatou! Not a long chapter…cos well…I don't think I can write long chapters anymore…I start school on Tuesday…!...That means time to hit the books again…Well anyway…I think Barzini-sama will have more time to keep you entertained….he's so lucky that he gets to start school way later than me…anyway...I'll give you meron pan just for fun! Mata ne!<strong>

**Kaito: You starting school soon….**

**Me: Yep**

**Kaito: That's sad…-have an aisu-**

**Me: Ikr…**

**Oh well anyway…Till next time! Mata ne! **


	11. Chapter 11

The little Chibi problem was horrifying. I was ill-equipped (along with about 90% of the cohort. ) to deal with this situation. Also, made worse was the fact that Crypton had announced that they had fixed the Vocaloid items, which made them return to normal size, effectively rendering their items useless. Level difficulty- Veteran (You will not survive). Yes… Yes… Call of Duty reference…

1. Miku's hygiene satisfaction

"Miku! You're gonna drown if you use the bathtub!" I said to her, her little body dragging a small packet of tissue, and two small towels that I cut out from a cloth for her.

"Daijobu! Daijobu! Miku has plan! Miku has plan!" Her higher-than-usual voice squealed, the packet of tissue dragged across the floor, and she went into the bathroom and slammed the door closed, screeching-

"NO PEEKING! JUST BECAUSE I AM SMALL!"

Annoyed, I retorted, "WHO WANTS TO PEEK AT YOU! WHO DO YOU TAKE ME FOR! WHO DO YOU THINK I AM!"

Her next response made me lose my annoyance completely as it made me deflate.

"BARZINI. BAKA."

A few minutes later…

"BARZINI-SAN! SAVE MEEEE!" I could hear Miku cry out, and I ran to the bathroom from my laptop, flung the door open, and saw Miku, wrapped in her towels, clinging onto a bar of soap which was obviously slippery and she was losing grip fast.

"SAVE MEEE!" She squealed, before losing her grip and her other hand clinging onto the tissue packet which was more or less stable, save for the great… Storm… From the bath tab… Which is a great invention of mankind…

I walked to the tap and turned it off, and Miku was panting, and I stretched out my hand, and Miku quickly climbed on it.

"But I need to bathe!" She lamented, and I scratched my head for a while, and set her down on the dining table, and walked around it as I pondered over how to let her shower, without, firstly, having to look at her shower, secondly, enough water goes down for her to be clean.

"Okay, Miku. I'm going to… Allow… Myself… To lose some… Face… For a while… You're gonna stand on this table… And I'll pour water down from the teapot while kneeling down with my arms raised… You can have your shower…" I said, reluctant to go down on my knees, but it looks like I didn't have much of a choice, huh.

"Okie! Okie!" Miku said, nodding her head vigorously, and I went to the cabinet and pulled out a teapot, and filled it with some cold water, then a little hot water to make it lukewarm.

"Okay… Stand at the centre… I'll stretch my hands…" I said, kneeling down, and I started tilting the teapot forward a little, letting the water trickle down, and you could hear Miku singing.

"Don't tell me the soap got fixed by them too! Then… Oh wait… Soap you can just rub it off like normal…" I said, and she kept singing, in a higher than usual voice, which was both cute and annoying at the same time.

"Good work, Barzini-san! The water is of the right temperature!" I could hear her say and I sighed.

"Yes, yes. Thank you very much." I said, and I felt the teapot getting lighter and lighter, and when I heard her chibi voice saying-

"Done!"

The teapot was almost empty, but Miku was dressed in her signature costume. The black and cyan coloured mini-skirt and top.

"I thought Crypton fixed the item problems? Where did that costume come from?" I asked, and she lifted her nose in the air, and coolly swept her hair to a side.

"Hoi~ Hoi! I think that Crypton can definitely fix it, but perverted people like you will take advantage of us!" She said, leaving no mercy in her words, but my retaliation was swift and brutal. Every day… We drive deeper… Into the hearts of Germany… Call of Duty's World At War reference again. Not really, I didn't waste my energy retaliating.

"Hmph. I'm not a pervert by the way." I said, putting her onto my head, and I looked up a little and saw her struggling.

"Urgh! Uruchai... Uruchai… Uruchai… Uruchai…" She kept repeating, and her legs were kicking down onto my scalp, and thank goodness for the fact that it did not hurt.

2. Miku's hunger meter

When the food supply chibified along with them, it more or less made the situation a lot easier for all of us. The food was their size. The bowl was their size. The drinks were their size.

But now, everything was their ORIGINAL size. Therefore, I had to sacrifice fifty cents, got a leek in its actual form for human consumption, and chop it into pieces so small that I had not done so since Hogwa- I mean, when I played with Playdough when I was a kid.

Then, I would place all of those tiny tiny pieces onto a piece of tissue paper and use my phone to generate a Vocaloid version of it, and she would eat from it. Drinks was… Well… I would extend a straw by connecting them, and bend it down towards her, and place it in an actual can of leek cola, before making it a vocaloid item, and there! Done.

That was pretty much the basic needs satisfied. However, when it reached later at night, another problem was pretty obvious.

Miku was in her white dress, and had somehow managed to climb onto her bed. Her powers, she called it. My finger, I called it.

"Are you sure you can sleep in such a big bed for your size with your huge blanket which I know you are going to use?" I asked her and she shot me a look.

"What is wrong with that?" She replied, and I shrugged and gestured at her.

"Well, nothing in particular. Just that you're small…?" I said, and she started hammering the bed and kicking it, crying out, "Uruchai! Uruchai! Uruchai! I'm not small! I'm not small!"

"Alright alright! I'll be next door if you need me. And pray that I am not asleep when you need help." I said, and went to my room, and got into my bed, and pulled a blanket over myself, but I purposely did not sleep on my pillow but on my hand. Let's see how long it'll take..?

"Barzini-san! Save meeee!" Miku cried out, followed by a loud cough, and I ran to her room, and it turns out that she was now effectively covered by her blanket and dying from a lack of air.

I pulled the blanket away, and you can see Miku lying on the bed, panting.

"What did I say earlier?"

"Uruchai! Uruchai! Uruchai!"

Xxx

"Miku… Let me phrase this again. As much as I want to put leek into your bowl that you're sleeping in, I can't." I said, staring at the little Miku in a bowl, her hands on her hip, defiant.

"Why is that?" She said, and I sighed, and spawned the leek that we had created earlier, and it poured from my phone into her bowl, and covered her completely, the only things visible was her hand outstretched, and I sighed, and upset the bowl, and placed Miku in it again, deleting the spawned leek.

"F-Fine! But it's bright! Put something on top!" She said, losing her case, and I placed a plate on it, but leaving a little gap so that air will still be regulated inside the bowl.

"Goodnight, Barzini-san!" She said, and I sat into bed, and pulled a blanket over myself, constantly staring at the bowl.

Can Miku sleep well inside? It looks so small to me… And the bowl is definitely hard… She's being treated worse than the teddy bear in my cousin's house… Teddy…

"Miku! I got a solution to your sleeping problem!" I sat up in bed, and I heard a loud clanking from the bowl.

"Yes? Barzini-san?" She replied, her voice echoing and magnified due to sound waves bouncing off the surfaces of the bowl and…I'm sorry, I got carried away as usual… But this way, you can still hear that her voice was cuter and higher than usual.

"Okay… You stay in bed. I'll go home and get it. It'll take a while!" I said, changing into something casual, and then peeking into the bowl. Miku had a tissure for a blanket and there was nothing there to hold that sudden thirst in the middle of the night.

"You sure you will be okay left alone?" I asked Miku, and she nodded proudly.

"Daijobu! Daijobu!" She waved her hand dismissively, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Okay! Bye!" I said, replacing the lid, and walked to the door, opened and closed it, then walked back softly to the bowl, and sat down silently on a dining chair and stared at the bowl.

"Of course! Of course, Miku is not scared! Miku not scared!" Miku kept on repeating, and you could hear her voice getting softer and softer, and then there was silence.

"Barzini-san… Are you there?" Miku whispered and that startled me for a moment. She knew I was here? I was about to respond when she continued-

"Of course I am here! I am always here for you Miku-chan!" Miku pressed her voice lower to try and sound like me, which was oddly… Or rather, eerily similar as it sounded like me when I force myself to sing a song with lots of high notes.

"Ah! Barzini-san is here! I was so scared!" Miku said in her own voice and then she fell silent again.

"I'm scared… It's dark… Darker than usual… Barzini-san isn't sleep talking… Or snoring… I can't even hear him breathing…" She started sobbing and I hesitated telling her that I was here all along.

"Negi… No leek here too… I'm thirsty too… Barzini-san… Help… Me…?" She sobbed, and I snuck to the door and opened it and said loudly-

"Ah! I forgot my phone!"

As soon as I said that, Miku's sobbing stopped.

"Poor Miku! I should really take her along…" I said loudly, and removed the lid and saw that she was lying down, facing the other way.

"Oh! She's asleep! Maybe I should just go." I purposely said, staring at Miku who quickly sat up and yawned.

"YAWN! So tired! Who work me up?" She said, stretching her small hands, and doing a comical yawn.

"Oh! So sorry to wake you up! You can go back to sleep!" I said, and she quickly stood up.

"No, no, no! I'm not tired anymore! Let's go!" Miku said and I stretched out a finger and she climbed on it, and I dropped her onto my head.

"Let's go to my home. Let's go back home!"

Xxx

I pulled out my old house keys, and pushed it into the lock, and turned it, and there was that click that I hadn't heard a long time ago, and the door of teak swung open, and I stepped in, sighing, running my finger across the wooden dresser. The old lady next door seems to have done a good job. Our family gives her a few hundred a month to just clean up the place (Or to help her family), as we have no idea when we may actually come back. I grew up here.

"This wasn't where you lived!" I heard a voice from on top of my head, and I had to resist nodding or Miku would have fallen off.

"It's the house I lived in before the one you went to and stayed for a while. No one lives here now. But I love this place. My childhood is here." I smiled and stepped inside, looking around for awhile before heading to the storeroom, and I opened it, and there it was. The thing that my dad said was good for display that was actually never displayed.

"A dollhouse?" Miku asked, and I went, "Mhmm…"

"It's not exactly for dolls. You know those little toy teddy bears? Dad said it'll look good at home. But he never took it out for display. I got it when I was like… Five? Six? Or maybe four?"

I took out a piece of tissue and wiped the doll house's exterior for a while, and looked at it for a while, before placing my hands around it and lifting it up. It was a lot lighter than I thought it was when I was younger.

I took one last glance around the house before leaving, and locking it, and then I walked slowly to the roadside, and waited for a cab. In Singapore, you need to wait for a decently long time in my area for a taxi at late night.

After a while, I got unused to Miku not talking so much, and I figured out why she wasn't talking. What she said in her bowl…

"Miku, thirsty?" I asked, my eyes rolling up thought I could not see her.

"Ah…" Miku replied, and seeing that the cab has not come, I set the doll house down at the pavement and brought Miku down onto the pavement and pulled out my bottle of mineral water. Then, I opened it, and poured water into the water bottle cap, and placed it on the floor, and taking out my phone, I made it a vocaloid interact-able object and after a while, the same cap with water in it appeared beside the tiny Miku, who jumped at it, and it warmed my heart somehow, seeing that she was somehow happier and less thirsty with water. As I waited to satisfy her thirst, several cabs passed by us and inwardly, I was starting to worry about being able to get a cab. Due to Murphy's Law anyway-

Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

"Uwah! Refreshing!" Miku smiled, washing her face as well, then wiping the side of her lips with her petite hands. Somehow, I was thinking if my other friends were having it easier on their end. I knew Amoz was having trouble with Rin throwing tantrums and ever since Rin turned chibi, she got even more temperamental.

"Arigatou, Barzini-san!" Miku bowed and I nodded, and I lifted her onto my head and stood there beside the dollhouse, and I can hear her yawning on my head.

"Tired?" I asked her and she murmured her reply. A feeble, "Yessu…"

"Take a nap. A cab won't come so quickly." I said, and I couldn't see what Miku was doing, but after a while, you can hear her breathing get deeper. A sign of a sleeping person. I folded my arms and waited, ten minutes… Fifteen…

"N-Negi…" She muttered and I had to suppress a laugh or Miku would have woken up.

Twenty… Twenty-five…

A pair of headlights cruised down the deserted road, and the words, TAXI glowed on the sign on the roof of the vehicle.

"Miku… Miku… Wake up! Wake up?" I said, but no, she did not stir.

So, what do I do?

Of course, I had to go in with my head at an awkward angle, and the taxi driver saw what was on my head and grinned.

"Crypton School?" He asked, and I smiled in reply.

"Yes sir. Oh wait!" I said as the taxi started inching forward.

"The dollhouse! Can you help me out?" I pointed to Miku sleeping on my head, and the taxi driver laughed.

"Sure."

When would this chibi madness end?

Xxx

As I entered the dormitory with the house in my hand, I scanned my card and the door unlocked, and I jammed a stopper underneath it, and then shifted the house inside and bending over to do so, forgetting for a moment that a sleeping Hatsune Miku chibi on my head, and it was only when I saw a small figure falling and I gasped, stretching out my hand to catch the Miku who had awoken, and her eyes were wide open, gasping. It was a pretty bad drop from my head.

"You okay?" I said, staring at her, panting, and she did not answer for a while, her turquoise hair around her, and after a while, my arm started to ache, but she was still panting, so I did not exactly want to move. So, I coughed, and her face went red, and she stood up, scratching her hand, looking like an AA battery on my hand.

"You woke me up! Baka, baka, baka!" She started hammering and kicking away on my hand. Another tantrum.

"Alright, alright. Sorry!" I sighed, and set her on the table where she placed her hands on her hips, her face puffed up, and she watched- I mean, spied- How about leered… Wait nevermind, watched is better-

Me take a piece of wet cloth and started wiping the doll house, and especially the windows, and Miku watched as I unlocked the doll house from the side and then went to the kitchen to get a basin of water. Slowly, I pulled out all the so-called furniture, and placed them into the water, then dried them with a cloth, before replacing them in the respective rooms. There were even small flower vases, with fake flowers in them, and a mailbox out friend attached to the wall. Guests rooms, note the plural. Then, lounges, dining rooms, entertainment rooms, tea sets, and a decently big kitchen. And a… Fake garden out back.

Essentially, it is a mansion for teddy bears. Now for Hatsune Miku.

"This isn't bad right? Miku?" I said, weary from doing cleaning jobs up to 2am in the morning.

"Yes, arigatou ne~!" Miku smiled, and bowed, her hair touching the table and she stretched her right hand out as if I was supposed to bend down and kiss it, and I stared at her.

"I'm not going to bow down and call you Queen…" I said, and she sighed, the exaggerated way.

"Put me at the front door! Barzini-kun!" She smiled, and I didn't really know what the term "kun" meant, but obviously, I know what she needed. A good night's sleep.

"Hai, oujo!" I smiled back weakly and lifted her to the front of the mansion, where I made a copy with the vocaloid item, and Miku's face popped out of the second floor, smiling at me.

"I got a small request, Barzini-san…" She said, looking at me, and I bent down to her.

"Yes?"

"Move the house to your end table. Face the moon. The window. The stars." She said, and I nodded, and did as she requested, getting her to exit the house, and making a copy of the house on the end table instead.

"Water?" She asked, as I crawled into bed, weary.

"I don't forget details. It's in there already. Kitchen." I mumbled, and drifted off to sleep. My dream was horrible. I dreamt that Miku was making me bald… Pulling out my hair…

Xxx

You know the feeling, when you think you should be awake in your head, but you just seem so… Lured… by sleep… Because your head starts to get heavier and heavier…

"Barzini-san… Wake up."

I opened my eyes slowly, and my head immediately started to pound, and it was not a good sign first thing in the morning.

"O-Ohayo." I said to Miku leaning out the window of the mansion, well rested. I think… Oh no…

"I think I'm ill…" I said, clutching my head, which was hurting, and warm. Apparently, the slight airhead called Miku could see that Darren was shutting down…

"Daijobu?" Miku said, and I shook my head, and searched for Michelle and Amoz's number.

_Man down. Man down. Tell the old fruitcake that I won't be attending her lesson. Fever._

I sent the text message and shook my head, and struggled to sit up, and went to the washroom and cleaned up; however, you know the feeling you get that when you are sick, but you still want to move about? But just couldn't?

"Barzini-san! You sick?" Miku said, now at the front garden, looking up at me, dressed in her white dress.

"Ah… Nothing a little Panadol won't cure." I said, and collapsed onto bed, annoyed at getting ill, and strangely hyped.

"Ahh… Okay…" Miku fell oddly silent and I wasn't about to start wondering why when my head started acting up, and my stomach started growling.

"I know your problem now." I raised a finger and then started looking for my phone and texting for Nicole to come to the rescue. I want… Fish porridge with an egg cracked into it, and for something with leek in it for Miku's size. Nicole efficiency. The phone buzzed back almost immediately.

_Looks like even the Napoleon of our times still fell._

I stared at the text and replied-

_I was never at Waterloo. I have not fallen. I will never fall. :3_

Her reply, was swift and brutal…

_Gheek._

"Let's wait for our food to arrive… Or we'll starve for eternity…" I said, face on my pillow, my words were magnified around my ears, which would mean that it was muffled to the anyone around me.

After a while of silence, and the occasional clanking of plates you can hear from Miku's home, probably from preparing for her meal, there was just her singing you can hear.

"Arattzattza ya ribiraririn~" She sang in this pretty cute voice and tempo, and even in my state, I had to smile.

Cute.

Xxx

"Delivery!" I heard Nicole's voice but I was too lazy to get up and open the door, but faced with the prospect of starving, I struggled to get up, and when I was halfway, a sharp and cutesy voice sounded-

"Chotto! Mahou Shoujo~" Miku screeched running off the end table and jumping, and it seemed to happen in slow motion, as she spun in the air towards me, then bounced off my head and placed her hand onto the vocaloid door scanner before sliding down and clinging onto the doorknob.

"Barzini-san~! Save me~!" She squealed as she clung onto the door knob and as I was about to grab her, the door flung open, and little Kaito came in, the one who had pushed the door open- and my mouth fell open as the door slammed into the wall, and I thought I shouted-

"MIKU! NO!"

"You! Back up!" I shouted, and Rin froze and slowly started retreating, her eyes reddening, and everyone behind her stood where they want, shocked that I had displayed my temper for once.

"Miku!" I said, and closed the door, and I heard a groan of pain. Possibly Rin. Or even Kaito, I thought I saw his scarf around the corner… That would have been worse… Nicole might as well have married him seeing her overprotective-ness and love with Kaito… She would have killed me… If I hit Kaito that is.

Miku was still clinging onto the doorknob, her head a mere centimetre or less from the wall, and I heaved a sigh of relief, and I picked her off and put her onto my head.

"Mahou Shoujo! Miku!" She said, and I almost lost my strength summoned from adrenaline and fell onto the floor, but not before opening the door, and I saw that Rin had taken it to the head, seeing how she was lying face down onto the floor, and Kaito's scarf apparently got stuck in the door, and he was half choking to death, and now breathing and panting.

"Sorry Rin and Kaito. Sorry all. As you can see the illness is winning the war, and please come in. Thank you for visiting." I bowed and let them in, and Amoz was trying not to grin as Rin cursed about the door and Nicole was fussing over Kaito, who repeatedly assured her that he was fine.

"Thanks Nicole…" I said as Nicole placed a container of porridge and placed it on the end table beside Miku's mansion and SeeU and the rest of the vocaloids brought the bowl of leek fried rice to Miku's mansion, and Miku seemed to have disappeared from sight.

"Miku-chan! Nyan!" SeeU said, pawing on the door of the mansion and Miku opened it, pretending to be surprised.

"Guests! Come in, come in!" She squeaked and ushered the chibis into the mansion, and I grinned at Amoz.

"Problem?" I joked and he nodded.

"Not fair! Where did you get that!" He said, and Michelle joined in, "Yes, where!"

"A fully functional vocaloid mansion. How awesome is that. You could get one if you had a time-machine. About 11 years before." I said gleefully, hearing the envious voices of the other vocaloids in the mansion, along with Miku's (very) high one.

"Why don't your vocaloids stay here until they go back to original size? There are enough guests rooms in the mansion. Right Miku?" I said, but instead of Miku's head popping out the window, it was Neru's. Her hand was on a miniature razor blade instead of her katana, must have stolen it from one of the male vocaloids or threatened one of them…

"We will stay here! The rest of us have no opinions!" She declared, and there was a loud scuffling and you could see a glimpse of Kaito's scarf and some muffled shouting-

"Uwa- Hands off me! I want Nico- Ouch! Ais- Ouch!" I could hear and my eyes widened as I stared at Neru who smiled back angelically at me.

After a while, Nicole sighed and nodded.

"It is probably more comfortable." She said, and I bowed my head.

"Amoz, get me some panadol later, will you?" I said, and he nodded, and stared uncomfortably at the mansion as a window swung open, and a hand seemed to cling onto it, before it was wrenched away by a cat-like scratch and Rin stood at the window, as if admiring the view from the little mansion.  
>"Be good, Luka!" Mai said, looking up from his PSP and at the dollhouse mansion which seemed to be trembling slightly, and sounds of things getting knocked around.<p>

"You too, Kaito! Be good! You will be more comfortable here than where you are sleeping at my side… I'll pick you up the next day!" Nicole said, and the struggle seemed to ceased, and the dollhouse fell silent. Allen leant against the wall and just kept looking at it, and Haku who stood outside the doll house entered it nervously and quietly, her greyish-white hair giving her that sad look from my view.

"I think it would be a good idea for the Kagamine twins to spend a day together. I'm sure they will appreciate that." Karina said, and we looked at her in surprise. She sounded like that woman from Skyrim… So wise sounding… You know that kind of voice? I'm sure you do.

"Yer… I agree… Oh well…" Amoz smiled, looking at the dollhouse, which now sounded with Meiko's calls of Karaoke.

"Aki! Aki! Will you be fine in there?" Amy said, and little Aki came along, leaning out the window nodding enthusiastically.

"I think it will be fun!" Aki squeaked, and Amy nodded reluctantly.

"Mhm… So when are you people going to pack?" I asked, looking around, opening the container of porridge, and started eating it.

"Dude you mad? Of course the moment I get back. Hello… It's Sapporo. Not Malaysia. Malaysia, I can still be pretty okay if I go there without any luggage as long as I got cash. But Japan? I can't run back the causeway to get things because there isn't any." Amoz said, and I nodded slowly, blowing at the spoonful of porridge before swallowing it.

"Mhm… I know… I know…" I said, and sat back on my pillow, thinking for a few moments. Our trip was at tomorrow noon. Common sense would dictate packing now…

"Alright peeps, if you don't mind, I need to start packing… After I eat of course…" I looked at them, apologetically at least. I wasn't in the mood nor had the energy to entertain people in my delicate state right now.

"Naw man, it's fine. Have a fine day. Get well soon! I remember the last time you fell sick, which was a long time ago, you were at it for a week." Amoz sniggered and I threw my pillow at him.

"Touch wood! NOW!" I grinned, and opened the door for them as they all filed out, instructing me to take good care of their Vocaloids.

As she was about to leave, she suddenly turned around, and I got hit in the face by her hair, As Nicole was the last to leave, then it started again. I closed the door and the mansion started shaking and you can hear that things were crashing about everywhere.

I rushed over to it, and unlocked it at the side and folded it open, and I saw that Kaito had been bound and gagged by his scarf.

"Release him this moment! I promised Nicole to take care of him! What is she going to say if he suffocated to death?" I hissed, and Meiko un-tied him, and Kaito coughed out the gag, and said in a rather squeaky voice for a guy-

"Arigatou! Now I need to go back to Nicole-sama! She can't live without me!" He said, and got up, and with a finger, I poked him back into the mansion.

"She said you spend the night here. That goes with the rest of you got it?" I said, waving my finger threateningly and they all nodded. Except Kaito.

"Nicole-sama did not do that! She needs me! Who knows what will happen without me!" Kaito gasped and his small face started getting whiter, probably thinking of all the things that could have happened to Nicole just a floor away.

"W-WAAAAAAAAAAH!" He started wailing and my head started to act up, and I covered my ears along with the rest of the chibi vocaloids.

"S-Shut him up! Meiko!" I shouted, and Meiko rummaged through her rucksack and pulled out an ice cream, and gave it to him, and he seemed to have suddenly forgot about Nicole as he beamed and started eating it silently.

I took out my phone and made replicas of the ice cream in its vocaloid form and buried him in it until it reached his neck, which he didn't seem to mind.

"Thank you, Meiko. Now, you people decide amongst yourselves, who takes what room… I need to start packing, if you do not mind." I said, but instead of packing, I started to eat, and the rest of the vocaloids seemed to have brought their own food (minus Kaito still eating ice cream) and settled around the dining table and chattered away, and I closed the mansion back together and pulled my laptop onto the bed, and turned it on, looking around.

"Hey guys… Keep it down… Len Kagamine, I can hear you! You're louder than Miku!" I said, hearing Len and Rin laughing together, and Miku's head appeared outside the window.

"Baka Barzini! What do you mean by that huh!" She said, waving her leek at me, her eyes wide and her lips pursed, her face pouted.

"Aargh… What's all this noise! You don't run off while singing Karaoke!" Meiko's hand appeared and roped Miku in, and she squealed, and the music continued. That song was so familiar… Sayonara Arigatou…

As the Vocaloids sang, I started to think about all the amount of money we are going to be spending in Japan. Touring… Holiday… Shopping even for me... Then as a gesture, I need to give every member of the team a token of appreciation somehow. The Vocaloids as well. Will 30,000 yen be enough? I am bound to get carried away. I need income!

But how and what?

I looked around my room. No junk to sell. And I as heck am not selling my figurine collection… Even though they are worth something… Not my books either… I love them…

I stared at the music coming from the Vocaloid mansion and grinned.

Vocaloids!

"Why not sell that app I created!" I said loudly to myself, and started giving a maniacal laughter, and the mansion fell silent for a moment, except for the slightest hint of Haku Yowane's humming, before the karaoke started back up.

But how much should I sell it on the market?

I pulled up Google Chrome and created an account on the Android website, and registered myself as a software developer, and apparently there was a registration fee involved.

"Sigh… Money… If the small isn't sacrificed, the big things won't come!" I hit the submission button, and I could hear the "Cha-ching!" sound as Android sucked money from me.

After a while, I picked up my phone and texted Amoz, and told him to bring his Macbook along with the panadol that I had asked him to buy for me.

_Whyz :/_

Because I told you to. Just bring it. Pretty please?

Okayz :/

I stared at the laptop and watched that upload button, and held my breath as the bar slowly loaded, and my creation would go onto the internet. To ease the burden of all Vocaloid owners… And make my wallet a little heavier…

With that, I pulled out my luggage bag from under my bed and started flinging my clothes in, along with my towels and other daily necessities. That's how I pack my luggage. For overseas at least…

_Ding-dong_

"Amoz! My dear friend!" I said loudly, and welcomed the tall, skinny boy in, carrying a plastic bag and his laptop.

"Come! Come! Pull up Apple's website for me! Come! Come!" I said, closing the door behind him and as the karaoke song changed, Amoz passed me the box of panadol pils to me, and I took out two, and downed them with a glass of water.

"Mate, you look like you are already fine. The colour on your face is already back… I don't think you even need the Panadol pills…" Amoz commented and I shrugged. Indeed, I was feeling better.

"Thanks for the pills, take the amount from my wallet." I said, and plugged in my thumbdrive USB containing the programme into his macbook, and downloaded Application Loader, and logged in with my iTunes account.

"Dude, nothing illegal?" He asked and I nodded, not looking up from the screen.

"Very legal. Very."

Xxx

"Thanks for the Panadol, Amoz." I said, and he gave me a nerd salute, before waving and abandoning (leaving) Kagamine Rin in her Vocaloid mansion. She had at least the decency to greet Amoz before going back in to enjoy herself. Kaito was going to run for Nicole… And Miku…

I am forever alone.

"I woke up early to baby blues eyes from afar… Whoa~ Whoa~!" I sang as I dragged out the other luggage bag from under the bed. It had all my winter clothing in it. I wonder if Miku needed any? But she was still in her chibi state... Hopefully things get fixed soon... I was about to have one of my profound thinking sessions about life when I felt my phone buzz.

_Boo... How's Kaito..._

Nicole. I won't blame her. If I left Miku at a friend's place, I wouldn't help but worry anyway...

_Plenty of aisu. But he misses you._

Haha! KYAAAH! Chibi is cute right? Right? :D...

Lol. They are... HAHA

Take good care of him okay? Mata ne! (:

Mata ne huh... Alright... Time for bed...

"Not too late okay? Night!" I said loudly to the mansion, and I stared at it for a while, hoping for the little girl with the ridiculously long turquoise hair to come out the front door and wish me goodnight, but after a while, I sighed and pulled up my blanket and laid onto the bed. As I closed my eyes-

"Mata ne, Barzini-san!" A soft sweet voice whispered at the side of my ear, and I pulled my blanket down a little, and opened my eyes a little. A shade of turquoise.

"Goodnight, Miku." I smiled and closed my eyes, and watched as the Vocaloid went back into the mansion, closing the door, but not before looking at me and smiling again.

"Goodnight, Miku..." I repeated, and drifted off to sleep...

Xxx

"This is Jack Bauer. CTU! We have a hostage situation! Sergeant Barzini! How many men do you have!" the rugged-looking Counter-terrorist agent looked at me, and I stood there for a minute. Where the heck I was I?

"Sergeant!" He shouted at me, and I turned around, 4 people behind me.

"Uhh! 4 men sir! Sergeant Barzini, awaiting your orders, sir!" I said, holding my sub-machine gun smartly in front of me.

"Very good, Sergeant Barzini! Now, this is what you are going to do... We have three women held hostage in that building! You and your men are going to break down the door and take over the first floor! Understood?"

"Yes sir!"

_Tic-toc, tic-toc... Tic..._

I could see myself on the top-right hand side of the screen, while the remaining police personnel were around me in different screens, with a great countdown sign in the middle of the screen.

"Alright, break down the door! Go! Go! Go!" I shouted, and the officer with the ram smashed it down, and we went in, from wall to wall. It was silent... Too sil-

A Caucasian man carrying a Kalashnikov stepped out from behind a wall and opened fire, the gun making clear creaking sounds from the poor maintenance of the gun and its bursts...

_Cre-cre-cre..._

Bang, bang bang bang

"Return fire! Return fire!" I shouted, and turned to look at Jack Bauer who was carrying a shotgun, and he opened his mouth to say something-

"Barzini-san! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

"Yes sir!" I shouted, and lifted my sub-machine gun to eye level and returned fire.

"Wait, what sir?" I shouted back to him.

"BAKA BARZINI! WAKE UP!" He shouted back, and I looked at him, confused for a moment, before one of the hostages who was screaming suddenly stopped and walked over to me amidst the gunfight, and pinched my cheeks, though it didn't hurt.

"I don't even feel- HATSUNE MIKU!" I sat up, and saw Miku and the rest of the vocaloids standing around me, and I blinked.

"Why the banana did you wake me up?" I groaned, and Miku let go of my cheek and did a little bow, and waved her leek in my face.

"GUESS! GUESS!" She beamed, and I saw that Kaito was crying. He was staring at all those mini ice-creams on his hand.

"All wasted... They were good aisu... Rest in peace..."

So cute... So small compared to Kaito... The aisu...

"Wait what?" I sat up, and threw my blanket aside, and Meiko facepalmed.

"Ahh... Miku... Your owner is real slow!" She said, in her simple skin-tight red top and skirt, holding a bottle of Sake.

"Oh good… What time is it?" I said, and picked up the alarm clock beside my bed. Four AM in the morning.

"Goodness… Do you people want to spend the night here? It would be rude to make your owners wake up in the middle of the night…" I mumbled, and crawled back to bed, and I saw Miku's eyes for a moment, before she sighed dramatically and chirped-

"Hopeless! Hopeless Barzini! Let us sleep in my room for the night~!" I could hear Miku saying cheerfully, and I rolled my eyes before falling into sleep again.

An uneasy, counter-terrorist sleep.

Xxx

Six. I couldn't get back to sleep.

I stood up and saw that the Vocaloids were spread around the floor, with the fiercest of the vocaloids gaining the bed. Meiko and Neru who somehow had managed an easy peace to sleep on Miku's leek bed.

Then Rin and Len Kagamine who conquered the table, and SeeU, the rug on the floor. Kaito had the space below the table, and the ones who fared the worst were Haku and Miku. Both curled up at a corner of the room.

I tip-toed to Haku and poked her, politely avoiding sinking through her, and she looked up, eyes wide open. Obviously not asleep.

"Take my bed." I whispered and her eyes opened up even wider than it already is.

"I can't do that…" She whispered, and hugged her legs closer to her, and I poked her in the ribs.

"I'm not going back to bed… Come on…" I said, and she stood up reluctantly, before pointing to Miku and looking at me.

"You're a guest. She'll understand." I whispered, and she laid onto my bed, but before smiling at me, and I returned the smile and carefully manoeuvred to Miku who was curled up into a ball in the other end of her room.

"Miku… Miku… Shopping…" I whispered, and she looked up, rubbing her eyes before it fluttered wide open and she was about to go into her ridiculously loud greeting when I signalled for her to be quiet.

"Ohayo! Barzini-san!" She whispered and I mouthed a good fashioned, "Ohayo." And signalled for her to get dressed and wash up, and she nodded, and tip-toed to the bathroom in my room to wash up after bringing her dress from her wardrobe.

"Meet me outside." I lowered my voice as she walked past me while I scribbled a note.

_Dear Vocaloids,_

_You have all changed back to normal size, so I doubt you all have any problems going back to your owners' dormitories by yourselves. If you are awake, please make yourself at home despite my absence, or you can make leave for your owner's dormitories, whom I am sure will be more than glad to see all of you. The last Vocaloid to leave, please lock the door. Miku and I are out shopping. Good day!_

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Barzini_

With that note written, I left the room with my phone, and this time I had no choice but to go out and buy some winterwear for Miku. Sure, I can clone it from the app, but I had no specimen to copy from, and we are leaving the country soon. Might as well be generous with the wallet for a while.

As soon as Miku came out, I ushered her out of the room and locked it, then we slowly walked down the rather quiet corridor, excluding a few vocaloids and their owners wandering about the corridors in the morning.

"So where are we going, Barzini-sama!" She said, closing her eyes and bowing slightly her hands stroking her hair.

"Winter clothing. You need them… You'll freeze to death with just that dress and signature clothing of yours…" I said, looking at her and she cheered.

"Fluffy! Fluffy! Must be fluffy!" Miku cheered, and we walked slowly down to the clothing store for Vocaloids, and walked to the section called-

_Winterhold_

In there, there were various kinds of winter wear. Typical male jackets, some with various patterns ranging from leeks (I wonder who made that for whom… It is so dreadfully obvious…) to some really nice sakura on them, and some with all the fur around its hood and ends.

"YAY! LEEK! LEEK!" She took one off the shelf and tried it on, and I raised an eyebrow when she put it on. It looked oddly childish, but oh, why not?

"It looks awesome. Why not get the one with fur at the end too? Oh, and that one, the slight red one looks nice too!" I suggested, and Miku closed her eyes and did a jig on the spot, jumping about, hyped up.

"Yay! Yay! Winter clothing! Yay!"

Winter clothing.

Sapporo.

Winter Festival. Here I come.

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>Okay! HELLO! So, we've been really busy in real life of late. Nicole's school has started (MINE IS LATERRRRR) but I need to do things too "<strong>

**However, we will do our UTMOST best to update as soon as possible. Cheers! :D**

**So, hope you had a great year of the Dragon! :D Leave a review to let us know you are still following the story! :D**  
><strong>Good day!<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

"Done~!" Kaito sang from his room.

I peered around the corner of the adjoining door, "So…we are supposed to meet downstairs…" then catching my eye was Kaito's huge pile of luggage, I pointed to the pile, "What do you intend to do with that?"

"That one is chocolate…that one is vanilla…that one is mango…and that one is blue sea salt aisu…" he listed pointing to each luggage in turn, even the colour of the luggage corresponded with the flavours.

"Then what about that one?" I asked, pointing to the smallest one.

"That one is for my clothes!" he said happily.

"So…you are bringing four cases of aisu…and one for clothes and other stuff…"

He nodded enthusiastically. He must have thought he was going to a place that had ice cream drought or something, though honestly I think Japan soft serve ice cream is just awesome! Like it's soft and creamy and the green tea one is sooo nice….and when its double scoop they pile it exactly half half on the cone and it's swirly…and…ok I get carried away…

I put on my best serious face and said, "No…we can't bring all that!"

"NO~! My aisu!" Kaito exclaimed back.

"Don't bring them ok! They serve Haagen Dazs on the plane!" I told him.

"Ok…" he said somewhat dejectedly, well there was definitely no way I was going to let him lug all that to the airport. I settled it with a stick of aisu instead.

Then a banging sound came from the floor, well specifically from the hole Barzini and I decided to make sometime during the weekend since we realised that we were living one floor apart. We just had it drilled DIY after asking the administrators if it was ok or not of course, with me drilling down and him drilling up, the hole was somewhere near the table where I normally have breakfast in Kaito's room.

Unlocking the cover covering the hole, I slid down the pole, yes you read right, we managed to get a pole too, thanks to Barzini's app (which I bought from the app store) we had copies of the pole made so in actual fact there were two poles and two drop down ladders for Barzini or Miku to use and climb up if they need to. Though of course, I couldn't touch the vocalized items.

Landing neatly on my feet, I asked, "So what's up with the banging?" Katio peered through the hole down at us.

"Barzini just wanted to know if he got the day right~!" Miku answered, half singing it out in her pitchy voice.

"Huhh…" I mumbled.

Miku continued, "And so I told him, of course the day is right! But then he still wouldn't believe the calendar, and so he wanted to call Nicole-sama~! Oh, and he wanted to give you some extra meron pan for breakfast~!" she finished in a fully fledged song, and ending with a pose that pointed to the meron pan.

I turned to him a raised an eyebrow, he looked around sheepishly.

Then I slapped him on the back and said, "I didn't believe it either! Anyway! It's happening! So…" glancing at my watch, "…yup…it's about time! See you at the airport~! Thanks for breakfast~!" with that I scrambled up the hole, a waved bye to a hopping Miku and replaced the cover back over the hole.

Xxx

The smell of tarmac…the gleam of sun glancing off the wing tips of the plane…I know you are thinking what kind of description is this! But yea well, that's all you notice when you are walking (running) to our PRIVATE JET! Whoot!

A quick run down on what's happening so far, well we were once again introduced to the CEO of Crypton and also three other executives who will be joining us, and we received mobile phones to use in Japan (with 3G function!)…and also of course…a credit card loaded with the money allowance!

Miku was lugging along bags of leek cola, Barzini brought a near empty luggage…how I know…well…I sat on it and it caved in. He said it was for all the Miku merchandise he was going to buy.

Hannah was slightly wobbly, but compared to Meiko…well she wasn't doing too bad…

Yukina was munching on some pocky while Piko was making sure that the locks on the luggage were secure.

Amoz was talking to Karina animatedly, while the Kagamine twins were looking at a chibi sized model of a steamroller sitting in Rin's palm?

Curious I went to ask Amoz, "Did you get a miniature model for Rin's steamroller?"

He smacked his palm on his forehead and said in reply, "Don't get me started on that…you remember the chibi thing…well Rin…she kinda threatened the Crypton people to make a miniature one for her when she was a chibi…so now she carries it where ever she goes…I'm just hoping that it doesn't have an enlargement function…"

"I see…" I said in reply. Such a poor guy…but for Rin it's worth it I guess!

SeeU was showing off her Salmon shaped bedroom slippers to Luka, who was hugging her plushie as usual.

Michelle was trying to get Allen and Haku to talk about where to go when we got to Sapporo.

Mai was doing his usual thing, Zhengyi was peering over his shoulder…and looking over at Neru, she wasn't too happy about the lack of attention now.

And, right at the back, was Amy and Aki, who were looking at a Japanese guide book and trying out some introductory phrases in Japanese.

Xxx

_Please fasten your seat belts and pay careful attention to the safety video we are now playing._

The voice sounded strangely like SOUL…

Five minutes later and we were up in the air!

The curtains in the front then opened, and the CEO of Crypton, stepped though and gave a short speech…which was translated of course…

_That was SOUL's twin by the way…Anyway, now that we have settled down, some basic things you need to know, when we arrive it will be dinner time and that will be on your own, but for the second day…we will be going to Crypton's company to learn more about your life-long companions and more about what we do. Any questions?_

Now that, I appreciated…I always appreciate short speeches…

Karina rasied up her hand, "What about the other six days?"

"Ah…that will be free and easy!" he said in reply.

"Any recommendations on where to go?" Amy asked sticking both her hands up.

The big boss laughed and said, "Well…there's skiing since it's winter, and there's the Sapporo snow festival…" then pausing for emphasis before continuing, "which you are all highly encouraged to go as I do believe vocaloids are featured this year!" I swear his eyes sparkled when he said that.

_Lunch will be served soon please be seated. Menus are touch activated please collect the meals yourself at the back of the aircraft…_

Collectively everyone turned to the back and saw that there was a bar-like looking table at the back of the craft.

… _additional orders can be placed anytime, by swiping the table screen._

Sliding my table tray out, I turned to Kaito when I realised that everything in the plane was touch activated for our vocaloids. The table was transparent, then a whirling sound, then words started typing itself out on the table screen.

…_Leek soup_

…_Grilled salmon_

…_Tuna sandwich_

…_Apple pie_

…_Fried banana_

…_Orange delight_

…_Marshmallow and chocolate dip_

…_Drunken prawns_

…_Mango Pomelo Sago_

…_Ice cream (all you can eat)_

…_Miso Ramen with assorted toppings and sides_

…_Chicken chop with tempura and chawamushi_

_Select?_

I scrolled down somemore, yup that was it, following that was just the drinks menu...interesting menus for our vocaloids and the last two choices as an after thought for us humans of course.

I made my choice of Ramen and was going to ask Kaito what flavor of ice cream he was going to get when I looked about and no one was there, except for Mai still gaming, turning my head back further, I realised that everyone had made a beeline for the back.

"One…two…three…PING~!" everyone chanted, and a plate shot out of the slot.

"Salmon~!" SeeU sang, whisking her plate away.

Then a dial flashed and I realised it was a timer.

60…59…58… (It was one minute meals apparently)

"It will be my LEEK~next~!" Miku squealed in her high pitched voice.

"NO~! MY ORANGE~!" Rin argued back.

23…22…21…

Meiko banged the counter with her fists, "Mine~!"

3…2…1…

Andd~! A bowl shot out, I recognized it as the famous mango pomelo dessert.

"Who's?" Len picked it up and held it over his head.

No answer…

"Isn't it Ne-" Zhengyi started, but cut off abruptly, and switched tracks, "You know what guys I'll just put it here…" he said grabbing the bowl from Len and setting it down on the tray behind him. Leaning back a little, I saw Neru grab the bowl and went back to her seat. As for the rest, that bowl of dessert was already forgotten and they had proceeded to countdown for the next dish.

The next bowl slid out and all you could smell was the overpowering leek smell.

"MINE~!" Miku said raising up her bowl of leek and sticking out her tongue at everyone else.

"Who likes leek anyway!" Rin shot back.

"You won't understand!" Miku retorted back and stormed off, as Barzini run after her with his meal in hand.

One by one we all got our dishes, when it was just me and Kaito left waiting at the counter.

_5…4…3…2…1…_

Kaito's ice cream sundae shot out of the slot. It was gigantic, apparently he ordered all the flavours and so that was fifteen scoops of ice cream in total. Not only that he got all the toppings too, and that was seven types of toppings, with all the waffles you could possibly stick into the top.

"Whoa…" I breathed out in sheer awe.

"Yo~!" Mai tapped me on the shoulder and said, I jumped a little, then he continued, "You gonna get your meal?"

He actually remembered to eat, I thought to myself as, I looked over my shoulder, and found that my tray had already shot out of the slot waiting for me to collect and next to my tray was a cup of instant noodles.

"Ah…yea thanks…" I picked up my lunch and walked back to my seat with Kaito.

"You sure you not gonna get sick with all that ice cream," I asked, somewhat skeptical, as I tucked in to my meal.

"Nope~!" Kaito sang out with glee, as he produced the longest ice cream spoon I've ever seen, and started demolishing the tower of cold sugary goodness.

_Inflight entertainment has now been switched on, they can be accessed though the touch screen menu that will now be activated, thank you._

Once that announcement ended, a screen slid out in front of us, prompting us to insert headphone jack.

Slurping up my lunch as fast as possible, I placed my empty bowl at the back and raced to select the games…when Barzini yelled out and interrupted, "THEY HAVE PROJECT DIVA 2ND~!" Following that was a scramble for the input to the game as we grabbed the console controls to the game in the side pockets.

Then Amy squealed in the back, "They have multi player function~!"

"I battle you!" Hannah said, excitedly as they started playing.

I was scrolling though the game functions when an option was DDR…

Curious I clicked on it and right next to my seat a Dance Dance Revolution dance pad came up from the floor and the screen rotated to the side…I stoned for a while before realization hit me and I shouted, "They have DDR! Who wants to dance battle?"

Michelle's hand shot up, "You're on!" I said in reply.

Our vocaloids watched on as we dance, played and sang their songs (though it was off key at some points but hey who's counting.).

Mid-way though our games, and my dance battle with Barzini, SOUL's twin came on again…

_We will now be arriving shortly please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts, thank you._

Obeying, though somewhat reluctantly, we returned to our seats. As the plane dropped altitude. I watched the lights of the night sky and looking down the runway lights of New Chitose Airport. The plane gave a small bump as we landed before taxiing to the arrow bridge.

Stepping off the plane, we hurried though immigration and collected our bags as we waited for someone to give us directions.

"This is sooo awesome~!" Karina said, all wrapped up in her winter gear.

"Mhm…" I mumbled back, paying attention to Kaito's instruction on how to tie a scarf the 'right' way.

"No~! Nicole-sama, it's right over left then it goes under the loop!" he told me getting slightly exasperated.

Then the CEO walked over and clapped his hands, "My dear students, we will now proceed to dinner where the itinerary for tomorrow will be given out as well as a short briefing before we head back to the hotel for some rest." Then sticking his head out, "Ah! There's our ride so come along!"

Exiting the airport, we were hit by a blast of cold air, whipping our faces, it was cold, about -10 degree Celsius, and I sure was thankful for all the winter clothing I was wearing. Our 'ride', was actually a Limo long enough and big enough to fit all of us inside, and still have room to roll around.

Pulling up outside an Izakaya, we were led into the biggest room with a very long table, and seated ourselves cross legged on the tatami mat. Sake was poured for those who could drink it, and everyone else had a choice of coke or orange juice. Tomorrow's itinerary was passed down and since the menu was apparently all arranged, and so the empty table was soon flooded with an array of traditional Japanese cuisine.

Raising his glass at the head of the table, the CEO said, "Congratulations, on your win! Your project was more that we could ever hope for!" Then we clinked our glasses together.

Then breaking our wooden chopsticks, we said together, "Itadakimasu~!" and started on dinner.

Chewing on a takoyaki, Kaito asked, "So…what's on tomorrow?"

Peering down at the piece of paper, "Umm…well it says that we have a full day tour at the company of Crypton…and it starts at 10am all the way till 6pm."

Scanning the list, Kaito got to the last part and commented, "…surprise event? No vocaloids allowed!"

"Where!" I exclaimed, he pointed and I followed his finger.

Half raising my hand, I was going to ask why when Barzini beat me to it, "Why is it that no vocaloids are allowed from 3-5pm!"

The man sitting at the head of the table, looked up from his tempura, and chuckled, "You'll see…you'll see…all in good time…"

"So…you're not gonna tell us?" Amy asked in a hopeful voice.

He shook his head.

"EH~! The old man will tell us in time so lets eat yeah~!" Meiko slammed her sake bottle on the table, effectively silencing everyone.

"Salmon sushi~! Dip it in the sauce~"

"With some wasabi~tuna tuna~"

Both SeeU and Luka sang out.

The usual banter over who was going to eat the first piece of sushi carried on between the two twins, while the two white haired vocaloids were looking at the bubbles in their nabe. Aki somehow had managed to convince Neru to let her do her hair, and so she was in the process of braiding it. Miku was um…sticking leek in Barzini's hair…

Yup, I relaxed in my seat and slurped up my noodles, it was a great start in Japan so far…

Xxx

"Onsen~Onsen~Onsen~!" Karina chanted outside my room door, as I hurried to put on my yukata.

"Just gimme a sec will ya!" I called back.

Our hotel…or more like our mansion…cause well crypton kinda booked the whole place for us…each room came equipped with a small hall with a hearth, and two bedrooms with bathrooms attached. Not only that, it also came with indoor and outdoor hot springs. Everything in the onsen was all touch activated for vocaloids of course.

"Okay! Done!" I slid open the rice paper door.

"You…look pretty!" Karina squealed, I was wearing a red yukata with a yellow obi, while she was wearing a pink with a pastel blue obi.

"Right Kaito…!" she nudged my vocaloid.

He nodded, "Uh huh! Nicole sama looks nice!"

"Well ok then! Your Nicole-sama will be off now!" Amy exclaimed to Kaito as she dragged me out of the room to where the other girls were standing in the hallway, then she pushed Kaito next to where all the guys stood, "well then bye~!" As they dragged me along the hallway I looked back at the very dumbfounded guys who just stood there.

Xxx

"Ahhh~"

"Now this is the life!" Hannah exclaimed.

"You sure got that right…" I sighed back as I place my towel on my head, like how you always watch the anime people do it.

Well fell silent for awhile enjoying the company and the sky above, when Amy broke the silence, "Let's talk~!"

Miku opened one eye, "About~?"

Rin smirked and said, "Let's talk about Barzini-san."

I leaned forward, now this I was interested.

Miku squirmed a little and said, "Barzini is super nice to me…"

"And~and~!" Aki exclaimed.

Blushing she looked down, "And…he always listens to me and helps me…and comforts me…he always thinks of me first…I think…the most awesome Master ever! He always makes sure I'm not alone and he gives me enough leek…But you know…sometimes I think that he's too passionate about History…but then I do like it when he tells be bedtime stories even though they are about war…" then she stuck half her face in the water, and started blowing bubbles, then jumping up and spraying water everywhere, she pointed at Rin Kagamine, "Now, your turn!"

"Yeah! Tell us about Amoz!" Karina added.

"Amoz…well…" Rin was at a loss of words? Now that was a first

"He always doesn't give me what I want!" she said in a burst.

"But…I know that in the end he cares a lot…" she turned around and started drawing pictures on the rock with water, then she mumbled, "…I just wish he let me used my steamroller more often…" I was seeing the softer side of Rin… I guess with no Amoz or Len around she was a sweet girl.

Then splashing some water on Haku, Rin passed the talking 'baton'.

"Allen-san doesn't really speak much ne~" Hannah commented.

"…but Allen-sama…he really likes all of you…and…and…he is really grateful to have met all of you…he tries to open up…" Haku said softly in his defence.

"Aww…that's so sweet…" I sighed back.

Haku nodded shyly.

"Neru-chan~!" I said, creeping up on her and covering her eyes.

"Nuh uh~!" she said as she tried to swim away.

"Gotcha! Now tell! Tell!" SeeU said.

"Yeah…why do you always bully Zhengyi?" Aki asked curiously.

"I…I don't…bully him…" Neru said looking away, "…he's just irritating…"

"Aww…comeon! It's cant be just that…" Karina coaxed.

"He's like a broth- NO~! He's a bother!" Neru crossed her arms in front of her.

I guess that's the closest we'll ever get to Neru admitting that she likes Zhengyi.

"You were going to say brother…weren't you Neru…" Luka said, in a matter-of-fact tone.

Neru's face turned red, "N-NO~! What about Mai?"

"Mai? He is a good companion…" Luka replied calmly.

"Heh~tsumaranai~!(boring)" Meiko said, "tell us about how you feel!"

"Feel?...He spends too much time on his PSP…" Luka looked her in the eye and said back.

Amy jumped up in the water, "Alright! Let's aim to get Mai off his PSP more!"

"OH~!" she punched her fist in the air.

Then looking around, "Come on! Again! OH~!" as we followed suit in varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"Now that my turn is over I pick Yukina-san to talk about Piko…" Luka looked over at the person in question.

"Eh~! Piko likes marshmallows…" Yukina started.

"We know that!" Everyone exclaimed back.

"Well…he likes to read…he's precise and he doesn't like to be called shouta…though personally I think that shouta's are cute but he doesn't know that…" Yukina added and finished in a rush.

"…"

"I think Len can be so shouta too~!" Karina sang.

Miku rasied her hand, "So~! Does he allow you to call him that!"

"Well, I like to tease him when I call him that…" Karina reflected.

"Ooo…I shall call Barzini that some day~!" Miku sang.

"Eh~! Do you even know what shouta means?" I asked Miku.

Miku tapped her finger on her lips, "Eto…not really…is Kaito shouta?"

"Nope…Kaito just loves aisu…" I said.

"That blue guy is always after ice cream…" Meiko commented.

I laughed and said, "Yeah…I call him Kai Kai sometimes…especially when he does this puppy eye thing for ice cream…"

"We really care about those guys don't we…"Yukina randomly said.

"Yea…" we chorused in agreement.

"You know, I wonder what the guys talk about…" I wondered out loud.

"…about girls maybe?" Karina suggested.

"Maybe…" Luka started, then reconsidering her words, "…probably…" she added.

Stretching, SeeU yawned and said, "We should go back soon…"

Haku nodded in agreement, as one by one we returned to our rooms for the night.

Xxx

_Pan~Pan~Pan~Pan~Meron Pan~!_

My new phone's message tone beeped, while I was going for my morning jog with Kaito, flipping the cell open, it read…

_Please be reminded to assemble at 9:30am at the hotel front._

Then popped out another notification…

_Shion Kaito has posted on your wall. View now?_

Clicking open the link…it read…

_Nicole-sama! I'm so happy to be in my hometown with you! But can we go get aisu now! Esp blue seas salt aisu!_

I looked across at him and said, "of course!"

Stopping at seven eleven, I grabbed a meron pan and aisu from the store. Then I proceeded to the checkout counter, the girl behind the counter started scanning the items with practiced movements when and when she looked up to tell me the price no words came out of her mouth. Addressing Kaito she then said, "Anata…Kaito-sama desu ka?" (Are you Kaito?) Then not waiting for his reply, she continued in rapid fire Japanese, "Yappari Kaito-sama!" (It is Kaito!) I suppose this was excepted so I didn't know why I was even surprised in the first place. Fumbling for some paper, she said, "Kore…kore wo sign shite kudasai!(Please sign this for me!)" she presented her paper and bowing at the same time.

And so we were presented with a problem…Kaito couldn't use paper that was not a vocaloid item or touch activated. Bowing back, Kaito said, "Gomen (sorry)! Pen…motte imasen…soshite…futsu na kami tsukaenai! (I…don't have a pen…and I can't use normal paper…)"

Marching over to the stationery section, I added a pen in my list of things I was already buying, "Kore wo kudasai." I said, shocking the girl for a moment, I sighed to myself, yea I was probably forgotten. Scanning my items, I paid for it and zapped it with my phone duplicating it, searching my pockets, I pulled out a piece of paper from the memo pad of our hotel and handed it to Kaito.

"Arigatou!" Kaito picked up paper and looked up at the girl and said, "O-namae wa(What's your name)?" I thought the girl was going to have a heart attack.

"Aiko…" she replied.

Signing his name, he wrote, 'To dearest Aiko…' on the top.

As we left the slightly in awe Aiko behind, I asked Kaito on the way back to the onsen. "Since when did you become so gentlemanly? You never even write my name when you signed for me!" I pouted. Running his hair through his fingers he turned on a winning smile and said, "I decided to be cool…"

"Huhh…ok…" I said, he was more confident, so I guess that was a good thing right? Though I do wonder what happened to him, something that happened last night with the guys maybe?

Then he added, "But…I'll sign for Nicole-sama again if you want!"

Xxx

"Anything else we need?" I was packing a small bag for the crypton tour today.

Kaito shook his head as he leaned against the door. I nodded, "Okey!" I was going to have to get used to this side of Kaito.

"Niiiiiicole!" Karina shouted as she ran up to me.

"Japan! Japan!" she started chanting as she clasped my hands and started jumping on the spot.

"Yo!" Kaito raised his hand in response to Len's greeting.

Then a sharp high pitched voice that could belong to none other than the turquoise haired Miku said, "Barzini! This is the first time I see Kai Kai with no aisu!"

Barzini stared for a moment, then he said at the same time with Kaito.

"Since when was I Kai Kai to you!"

"Since when was he Kai Kai to you!"

"Nicole-sama!" Kaito started, "then remembering his promise to be cool, he switched tracks and said, "…It's Ka-i-to! And nothing else!"

I edged towards Miku and whispered, "Hey…keep the conversations last night a secret will ya…"

"Oh…ok…gomen…" she whispered back.

"What was that…" Barzini eyed the two of us.

"Nothing…nothing…" we both waved back.

As the other streamed in, with most of them looking alive except for Zhengyi who looked like he was sleeping on his feet.

Promptly at 10am we left the hotel for Crypton Future Media Inc. HQ.

Xxx

30 minutes later…

From the gleaming sign of the Crypton logo, Miku pointed out enthusiastically, "The 'Y' looks like my leek!"

"Indeed it does…" came a voice behind us.

The CEO was there together with another man, who introduced himself as the producer, Wataru Sasaki. Along side the both of them, was a translator to help us along.

Entering the building, the programming rooms, voice testing rooms, and various other rooms each with it own purpose was pointed out to us. We were then ushered into an oval shaped glass lift which took us all the way up to the highest floor.

"We will now be meeting the core people of our company…basically the people that make it all possible!" the producer told us.

The lift doors opened and we stepped out, all around were posters, shelves, figurines of the various vocaloids, with all it's sections labelled with each vocaloid's name.

"Seeing so much of me is kinda dizzying…" Kaito commented.

"Uhuh…I can imagine…" as I stared at the wall of blue.

Then one by one, each software developer handling the various aspects of vocaloid software making introduced themselves.

I'll just make a list now…

-Kei (in charge of the sound quality and effects division)

-Umi (in charge of the programming)

-Akira (in charge of the art and design)

-Satoshi (in charge of the digitalising and overall end product)

-Rika (in charge of PR and product promotions)

…and these five people all work under the producer.

After the intro's we were shown into the programming room.

Where Umi was giving us a brief run through, "This…is the programming room! Everything starts here! From the voice synthesizing to the character designing it all starts here…please step this way…"

We were led into some sort of voice recording studio.

"As special guests of our company today, the companions of our vocaloids will have a chance to make their own vocaloid voice and chara design as part of today's programme!" Umi announced.

We all stoned for a moment…then Amy squealed, "For real!"

Umi nodded. "Five of you will start with voice, and the rest will start designing your charas…based on yourself though pods over there…" she gestured from the sound proof room to some scanner like devise hooked up to a computer at the other end of the room.

Xxx

Opening the door, Kei leaned against the frame, "So…who's going first?" The five people in my group were Karina, Amoz, Mai, Michelle and me.

"Amoz will go first!" Rin chirped as she pushed Amoz forward.

Amoz scowled, but entered the soundproof room anyway, while the rest of us gathered outside in the viewing room. Speaking into a microphone, Kei said, "Amoz-san please put on the pair of headphones."

"Where-"

"Look up baka!" Rin squealed into the mic at Amoz. A pair of headphones were dropping down from the ceiling.

"I knew that!" Amoz shouted back, sticking out his tongue.

Kaito leaned in and whispered to me, "They really have a great relationship don't they…"

"Mhmm…" I nodded back, I heard Kaito sigh before leaning back on the wall.

"Ok…Amoz-san…please repeat after what you hear to the best of your abilities." Kei instructed.

"A~I~U~E~O~!" he sang out.

In total, he tested out a few chords, some scales and certain syllables and intonations, the last thing he was told to do was to breathe.

"What's the breathing for?" Len asked.

Looking up from the equalizers, Kei answered, "It's to see where the phrasings of the sentences will be when creating a song and also to make the song sound more realistic.

"Oh…" we chorused together. So technically breaths were just as important in vocaloid song creation as in real life singing.

And so one by one, we proceeded; only problem was that we had to pry Mai away from his PSP. Also remember the plan to keep Mai off his PSP…well, it kinda worked for a while, until we found out that the guy could magically procure PSPs as and when he needed them…which was well…you get the picture…anyway, moving on…

From the sound studio, we bowed our way out of it thanking Kei at the same time, and made our way to the design area where Akira was there resetting the pods for our use.

"A little intro before you start…the very vocaloids that you have standing next to you was actually designed by those computers…" he pointed over to where the pods were connected to some tablet PCs, "…as they did not have a base design they were fully digitalized from their creator's imagination…however…as you can see we have added something new…" he gestured towards the pods, "…these machines will digitalize anything placed in them, which can then be modified using the computers...and you eleven privileged students are the first to try this new software…now will all of you please step into a pod."

"This is not gonna hurt right?" Michelle asked, as we stepped into the contraption.

At the word hurt, I think Kaito was struggling with himself to not reach over a grab me out of the machine.

"No…no…think of it as a giant scanner…nothing's going to happen…" Akira assured us.

A green ring of light came from the top and the bottom, intersecting at the middle.

"You're appearing on screen!" SeeU said excitedly.

"Do I look good!" Amoz shouted to Rin.

"You…you look…normal…" Rin said back to him.

"Hu~! I know I'm better than that~!" Amoz countered.

"I would say that my Karina-sama is the most pretty…" Len started.

Kaito shot him an incredulous look, "You've got to be kidding…everyone knows that Nicole-sama is the best!"

A tuna came flying though the air and bonked Kaito on the head, "Mai Banzai…" Luka said calmly.

"No! Amoz!" and an orange suddenly gained the ability of flight in Kaito's direction.

"Oh…so now I'm good to her…" mumbled Amoz next to me.

Kaito then said, "That's it! Stop!"

_Scan complete. _

The machine beeped and I stepped out, "So…err…how do I look?"

Kaito pointed at the screen, it was me with the eyes a little bigger in anime form and taller I think! Floating and turning in a small circle, dressed in the current clothing I was wearing.

"You may now use the drop down menu to customize the outfits…" Akira said, walking around and checking if everything was going good.

Karina's hand shot up, "We can customize it anytime later again right!"

"Yes…yes you can…more information about how this will work will be told later," the art designer said back.

I was flicking the menus when Kaito leaned in and poked his finger at a dark blue bubble dress on the screen, instantly the 'me' on the screen adopted the look.

"Not bad…" I commented. Tapping another short dress paired with shorts, and a few others. Eventually we settled on the one Kaito chose. His taste in clothes was actually quite good, and he obviously knows me well enough to pick something I liked out of the hundreds of outfits I was scrolling through. I pressed the save button on top and looked around, everyone else was done except Mai…

"Wassup?" I hugged the back of his chair.

"I can't find a yellow wrist band!" he was frustrated.

"Just scan it…" Luka pointed to the scanner.

"Oh. Yea." Mai took off his wrist band and scanned it in, adding the accessory to the image on screen.

All of us were done and so we gathered at the common room again.

The producer addressed us, "Satoshi is now combining your voice banks and your vocaloid designs together, and the package will be completed by Rika who will tell you more about later. For now, please sign this contract." He passed out a typewritten single sheet of paper to each of us.

"So…what's this for?" Barzini asked.

"Basically, we are gifting you with your own personalized vocaloid software, it is made with the vocaloid 3 technology created under our company, and therefore is copyrighted and, cannot be duplicated or sold or given way to anyone, and thus we'd like your cooperation on your part for this." He explained.

"Wait…why can't the vocaloids we made be in hologram form too?" Zhengyi questioned.

"Cause that would cause a lot of confusion in school…" Satoshi said walking down the stairs with small boxes. Holding up one, he said, "In these boxes are SD cards which is your vocaloid software, they can be used on any platform including your phones, and since they are obviously just the software they are limited to singing songs and changing appearances…"

"…And!" continued Rika walking from the other side of the room, "…just so it looks pretty, they will be given to you in these metallic boxes, which has your names engraved on."

"That…is…just pure awesome…" Barzini breathed, somewhat in awe but we all were, I guess, it's not every day that a big company decided that you were important enough to create a voice bank out of and allow you to design your own charas too.

"Come exchange those contracts you have in hand for the softwares." Rika added.

Quickly exchanging the paper for the box, I opened mine, then I touched it…I would squeal but I think I'll do that later.

"It's a Nicole-loid…" Kaito said.

"Mhm…" I nodded in agreement. No one had any idea how muched I wished that I had voicebank for vocaloids too, and here it was…

"Barzini-loid? It should be Hatsune Zini!" Miku said loudly.

"EH~! Why am I named after you?" Barzini exclaimed back.

"Meh! I'm the best so it's obvious everyone should follow me!" Miku sang back.

"WHAT~! Everyone should follow me! Kagamine Amoz!" Rin countered.

One-by-one the other vocaloids joined in debating on who should be named what, except for Piko and Haku. At this point stopping them was useless so we didn't even try.

"Where to next?" I shouted over the din.

"Eto…I think lunch?" Yukina replied me in a similar fashion.

"LUNCH! DID SOMEONE SAY LUNCH!" Meiko banged the ever ready sake bottle on the table. Suddenly the whole conversation took a 360 degree turn.

"LEEK! We want leek!" Hatsune Miku waved her stick of leek in the air, nearly bonking it onto SeeU's head.

"Correction…you want leek…WE want tuna…" Luka replied.

"NO! We wa-"

"Ok…ok…calm down! We have everything prepared!" and with that the producer a.k.a. the tour guide ushered us down a short hallway and pushed opened the doors to the canteen, only it wasn't a canteen, honestly by now we were not surprised if everything they said was an understatement(and you shouldn't be surprised either) and the only that wasn't was well…nothing…life has been extraordinary…but I digress…so…yes the canteen was a five star restaurant, round tables with silk table cloths and centerpieces of carved iced of vocaloid figures, all in conjunction with the Sapporo snow festival.

"Buffet!" Aki was bouncing around in happiness. I looked around for Kaito, he was already halfway across the room edging towards the desert section. I guess his love of aisu beats all things…

I was seated at the table with a Kaito ice carving in the center, it was supposed to be that way I guess…sit where the ice carving corresponds to your vocaloid , I was eating curry rice, when Kaito asked, "where to next?"

Pulling out the schedule, I said, between bites of rice, "Hologram room…something about vocaloid items…then at three it's that mysterious time where you guys don't get to come along…"

Then everything went black.

"Guess who!"

"Uh…Karina…"

Her fingers opened, "EH~! No fun!"

I tilted my head up and looked at her, "That's cause it's obvious! Go get something to eat already!" I pushed her towards the spread on the long table.

Xxx

An hour later…

We took the elevator down another floor and ended up in a room completely white, with just one computer at the side and a huge projector.

The CEO stood in the middle of the room, "This is the hologram room, where the 2-D becomes 3-D! Where we breathe life into our or in this case now your! Wonderful companions!" He ended with a fist on his chest and there I was thinking this sounded much like someone I knew whose name starts with a B. Anyway…Sasaki the producer continued, "We intended to take this time to explain and show you how these holographic…or vocaloid items as you know them…works…however…"

"YES! However!" the CEO interrupted, I think he was excited now, "…it seems that there is one among you that is already well versed in this programming and software…"

"Oooo! Barrrrzini!" Miku squealed and prodded him forward.

He stumbled out from the pack of us.

"Uh…"

The CEO clapped a hand on his back, "Well…there's a fine chap!"

He proceeded to shake Barzini's hand, "We were really amazed at your little creation…"

"Uh…thanks…Miku helped too…" he sheepishly answered.

"Ah…I see a little help from your companion I always nice…anyway we would like to give your invention a little tweak…what do you say?" the CEO offered.

Barzini's eyes narrowed a little, well it was his um what does he call it…ah…yea…PWECIOUS…

"No worries, why don't we show you the proposal first." The CEO clapped his hands and the lights dimmed, just enough so that our vocaloids were still around.

_Initiating proposal…_

A model of a standard sized mobile phone appeared, a rotated about the point as a voice started speaking.

_As you can see this is a mobile phone, it has Barzini-san's application uploaded into it, when the application takes a picture of anything it will be duplicated into a vocaloid item._

The animation showed a vocaloid with a vocaloid item.

_Our proposal therefore is to make it in such a way that the object will not be duplicated but turn into a vocaloid touch activated item instead, like your room fridges and everything in the hotel you currently reside in, Barzini-san will then be credited and the application will be sold for twice the price should he accept the proposal where he will earn 70% of the returns while our company Crypton will hold the remaining stake and help market and sell this product._

The animation showed virtual Barzini…raising his hands up with the money and Crypton partnering with him.

_Proposal sequence end…_

The lights came back on, "So…what do you say?" the CEO turned to him and asked.

"So basically you want to turn the app from duplicating to making it touch activated and he gets more money for this while you benefit too." Amoz ticked off the points and summarized.

"Yep," the CEO replied.

"Then why did we have to go though…whatever that was…" Amoz shot back.

"Cause it was fun! Now Barzini-san…" the CEO said back like fun was a reason.

"Well…ok…" Barzini finally conceded, "I'm gonna be rich!" he suddenly exclaimed, and there I was thinking that that was gonna take a while, I mean he's a history major he would have probably gone through the pros and cons and where in history has such an exchange taken place before was it successful etc.

Both the CEO and producer blinked, "Well…uh…that was fast…just sign here…" he pulled out a folder and a pen.

Snapping close the pen cap, Sasaki-san addressed us once again, "Since that went really fast…we have more time for the next activity…if the vocaloids could please excuse themselves…"

As Miku waved goodbye to Barzini and the others said bye and watched their vocaloids file out of the room, I could see Kaito trying to stay in the room us long as possible, when he finally turned and left too, ah…he really was trying hard to be cool…and um…what a change…

The room felt a little empty and I think all of us felt it especially when Zhengyi turned to talk to Neru and she wasn't there. I felt…sad…it just shows how much our vocaloids were a part of us in the short time that we knew them.

Rubbing his hands together the CEO addressed us, "Well, I know it's strange without your life long companions, but just for this little while. You are here to help us design a new range of vocaloid items specially for your vocaloids."

The lights dimmed again…

_Starting project briefing…_

_The following project you will now be handed, is of utmost secret and will consist of designing a new product specifically for your vocaloid. We have asked your vocaloids to step out for this project as part of this will also be a surprise for them as we have never gifted them with anything yet for their efforts in producing the music project so flawlessly with their human companions. Therefore, it is Crypton's and your joint gifts to them and the items will be one-of-a-kind never to be produced again. Do you accept this condition?_

"What kind of question is that?" Barzini shouted form the back.

"Yes…we accept…" Mai looked up from the glow of his PSP screen and answered.

_Condition accepted…Initiating project…Enter project title…_

"Ah…yes…you need a group name…" the producer said somewhere to my left.

"Let's name it land of the rising sun!" Amy said, squealing in my ear.

"You want to name it Japan…" Zhengyi said back coolly.

"If not how about, sunrise?" Yukina said quietly from her corner.

"The morning glow! That's the best time of sunrise!" Michelle added.

"Asayake…" I mumbled.

"That sounds nice…" Allen suddenly said next to me, I tell you when that guy creeps up on you, it's silent and a little creepy.

"Yep! Okay! Let's use it!" Amy said, keying in the name.

_Name accepted…project title…ASAYAKE…_

_Producing templates…_

Eleven monitors and chairs shot out of the side of the walls and from the floors.

_Awaiting input…_

"Okay! So please take a seat at one monitor and enter your name." The CEO ushered us to the screens decorating the sides of the room.

I sat down and typed in my name.

_Sequence started…_

The screen blanked out for a while, tilted itself to a 45 degree angle, then more instructions appeared.

_Please enter design…_

"Well, you may now use any means to draw your designs…we only ask that you make your gifts reasonably sized so that they can travel back with you to Singapore." The CEO said, his voice filling the room.

I stared at the blank screen…what to design…what to make…

Let's see…Kaito likes ice cream, blue, the sea, the beach, scarves…eto…bicycles! But he already has a bicycle. Maybe something usable…uh…I looked to my left, Barzini was making some sort of coat and on my right Karina was drawing bananas.

"Why are you drawing bananas?" I leaned over and whispered.

"You'll see…we can make anything and everything right!" she said back to me mysteriously.

Anything and everything…yea Kaito and I always complained that we needed to have every flavor of aisu at our disposal sometime so that we can make the world's most awesome sundae. But then someone said we needed to get an ice cream maker…an ice cream maker…

And so about an hour later…

I was more or less done with my creation, it was blue…or Kaito blue as I like to call it and it could make him up to three ice cream flavours simultaneously and it had a built in freezer so that he could carry it around.

Surveying the room everyone was more or less done…

Zhengyi designed a automatic katana sharpener for Neru, if you ask me he's asking for trouble, but well, anyway I think Gakupo will be jealous.

Mai got some inspiration from SeeU's salmon bedroom slippers and designed a tuna one for Luka, only that hers came with the tuna having different expressions so they were interchangeable, Velcro I think…

And so guess what Michelle got for SeeU, a salmon plushie of course…

Amy designed a charm bracelet for Aki, where the charms were an apple tree growing in different stages.

Allen, well he really had some talent for this he designed a dress for Haku, to me it looked like a wedding dress but ah well, he insists it's JUST A DRESS.

Yukina designed a chocolate fountain which had a Piko figurine on top.

Hannah, well, she just did the most Meiko thing possible, she made a Meiko brand of sake.

For Len and the mysterious banana drawing, Karina designed an enlargeable banana plant that could grow on your window ledge and had an enlargement function so you could actually eat the banana after you grow it.

For Rin, Amoz didn't seem to know what to get, he already pampered Rin with almost everything, and the only thing he could think of that Rin really wanted was to have her chibified steamroller model enlargeable, and so, he actually did that despite what he just said a day ago…well…I have no idea if it's a wise choice but anything for our vocaloids, yes?

After presenting our creations to be made into official one-in-the-whole-wide-world vocaloid items, only Barzini was left.

"So…wassup?" I asked, peering into the screen.

"I can't decide what colour…" he said back, slightly exasperated.

I looked at the colour he chose, boy he really had bad colour coordination.

"Pink and Gold…on a turquoise hair coloured vocaloid…you for real!" I exclaimed.

"Try this…" I tapped the colour palette and changed it to a white with turquoise trimmings and with the snowflake print in a light blue so light that it looked almost white unless you looked really closely, he had designed a winter coat for Miku apparently.

With that finally everyone was done.

_All designs comfirmed…locking in blueprints…_

The producer then said to us, "Your items will be waiting for you when you return to your hotel rooms, they will be fitted with a special logo bearing the name for your project and will also be personalized with you and your vocaloid's name…"

Then the door flung open, and before I knew it I was hit by a wall of turquoise.

"Barzini!" Miku jumped and hugged Barzini.

Gosh that few hours away from our vocaloids really was noticeable.

"So…what did you do while you waited?" I asked Kaito, pulling him to a seat. I was struggling not to hug him, he was trying to embrace the cool culture you know.

"Oh…please you know you want to!" Karina shouted, and pushed me into Kaito's arms.

"Whoa…Nicole-sama!" he was in shock, then he hugged me anyway.

"Well… to answer your question…we talked…and-" he started and was cut-off when Aki came over a shushed him saying that it's top secret! Just makes me more curious as to what vocaloids talk about.

"Students! We are so glad for this time of reunion…but it is the end of the tour here at our company…" the CEO boomed from the centre of the room.

Xxx

We exited from Crypton's glass doors, bowing our way the Japan way, with each bow seemingly getting lower and lower, till we piled into the limo.

Zhengyi stretched, "So where to tomorrow?"

"Sapporo snow festival…" now that was a shocker! It was my first time hearing Meiko in a sober state. We stared a little, then…Barzini said, "WHA-…HOW!"

"It's a secret, I'll tell you later Nicole-sama…help change the topic!" Kaito whispered to me.

"Uh…ok…uh…so who's going to the snow festival tomorrow!" I said loudly.

Everyone raised their hands.

Barzini then added, "But! If it's ok…Miku and I have somewhere else to go tomorrow too…so…" He must be going out to fill his empty suitcase tomorrow.

"Miku not coming?" Rin asked somewhat saddened.

"No worries Rin, I'm sure there'll be other days…" Len said to console his twin.

"Dinner…" Piko mumbled.

"Nyan~! Hungry!" SeeU purred, raising the next question as to where we are going to eat.

"Eto…if you guys don't mind…I'll be going for dinner with Piko…um…just the two of us…" Yukina said shyly.

"Yea I think our vocaloids have a lot to show us around their hometown so…we dine with our vocaloids tonight..." I commented.

"Agreed…"Allen said.

Everyone else nodded.

Xxx

So…Kaito and I went out for a bowl of Sapporo ramen before ending up at a dessert store.

It was bright and sparkly and it had that 'Uwa Uwa' kinda feeling when you stepped into it and the cushions were poofy and fluffy like marshmallows and the menu was like a million flavours of ice cream and combinations just screaming out to you…oh!...and the names of the creations were absolutely adorable…

I rested my chin on the table, "Which one to choose!"

"Eto..." the waitress came to my rescue… "Osusume wa 'hime-sama no hatsukoi' to 'ouji-sama no kenshin'(Today's recommendation is 'the princess's first love' and 'the prince's devotion.)."

I looked up, and since I couldn't decide I settled on 'hime-sama no hatsukoi' and Kaito settled on 'ouji-sama no kenshin'. They were strawberry and chocolate sundaes, with a touch of royalty according to the waitress.

"So…spill! How did you get Meiko off sake?"

Sipping his ice tea, he said, "We did what Barzini-sama said, only we were actually successful…"

"So the sake she had was actually tea? But when did you change it?" I questioned.

"Yep…Piko figured out how to make tea taste like sake…some chemical thing. We changed it during lunch." he said back.

"Heh…cool…"

"Your turn…what was a big secret that took almost two hours in that room!" he demanded.

"Eh…um…you'll see soon…" I said, evading the question, then thankfully our orders came.

Scooping a huge spoon of sweet cream with strawberry ice cream, I think when the sugar hit me it was like going to bliss…and looking over to Kaito, he looked more like Kaito already…cute.

By the time I finished the last scoop, I realised that Kaito had already finished his first, ordered the third and was demolishing the second. When we were done, we walked back to the onsen…and honestly I think I put on some weight…sigh…

Xxx

"Nicole-sama! What is this!" Kaito exclaimed from his room, then he came out carry a medium-sized parcel.

I sat cross-legged on the cushion in near the central fireplace, making some green tea.

"Open it...judging form the Blue wrapper to the cursive words it's obviously for you right…" I played along a said back.

He opened the package, then he stared at it, at this point I must say that they did a really good job it looked exactly like what I planned and it the logo and the inscriptions of the names were really pretty and in nice font.

"It's an aisu maker right! And we always wanted one!" He said excitedly, then he turned it around a saw the names.

His eyes widen, "It even has my name…and your name on it!"

I smiled and nodded, "Mhm…like it?"

"Love it!"

"Good, cause I designed it…" I said.

"Really?" he blinked, "Thank you, Nicole-sama!" he threw his arms around me in a hug.

"Well, it was Crypton who made it…"

"But still!" he hugged the machine, "Nicole-sama specially took pains to design it for me!"

I laughed, "Glad you liked it!"

"Let's make some aisu tomorrow?" he said hopefully.

"Definitely!" I said back.

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>And so it's done…I'm sorry it took one month…T_T…school is driving me mad…I have a bazillion tests and before I know it another week went by…and I'm still stuck at the same place…it's a one week break now…which is probably why I even managed to finish in the first place…my mid-years coming soon(there's never anytime is there)…sigh…Barzini will be able to update faster cos he STILL hasn't started school…if you are still reading this…then thanks a lot for sticking by…:3<strong>

**Thank you! Arigatou!**

**-gives meronpan-  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>As you have heard, my co-author's school has started, and mine hasn't! :D<br>So, I will be entertaining all of you with my antiques in my next showing in the next chapter. Did you all watch Mikupa? And Kaito & Meiko's debut which was awesome... I liked Meiko's CHANGE ME a LOT.  
>So.. See you guys soon, I hope! <strong>


	13. Chapter 13

"Hoi... Hoi... The girls are going to the Hot Springs I believe..." Zheng Yi said, throwing himself onto the floor and lying there.

"Well... Why not we go get a dip too?" Mai suggested, abandoning his Call of Duty on PSP, and looking up, and we looked at each other and shrugged.

"I guess so..." I looked around, and no one seemed to oppose that decision, so we boys seemed to have a mutual understanding and we got about to changing to our men's yukata, and I nodded to Miku who was pointing in the direction of the girl's room.

"Let's go get something to snack on, and some things to drink..." Amoz suggested and we nodded.

"Onward!" I took the lead and I saw that the girls were already on the move, and were dumping their male vocaloids on us.

Of course, our female ones were with them too. So we couldn't really complain.

Xxx

"Settle the wooden boat gently onto the water now... Easy..." Allen muttered, as I placed the two wooden trays shaped like a boat laden with rice balls and Ocha (Japanese tea) onto the hot spring surface gently.

"Mhm... Okay..." I said, and we all eased ourselves into the hot spring, all giving out sighs of content as we settled in.

"I haven't enjoyed myself this much since I got Skyrim..." I sighed and Amoz nodded in agreement.

"Amazing. Wonderful! Fantastic!" Piko said as he sank into the hot spring, and we laughed. So many words of compliment.

"Barzini-sama! I can't understand WHY I can't bring ice cream to the hot springs." Kaito said indignantly, and I looked at him.

"Because ice cream will melt at these temperatures?" I said, and he sighed, looking thoroughly upset over it.

"Eat this instead, Kaito-sama." Len said, pushing the boat of vocaloid rice boats to him, and Kaito picked up one and placed it at his mouth before biting it.

"So, what do us real men talk about?" Len said, and I laughed.

"You're a BOY. We're all boys. None of us are mature enough to call ourselves men..." I said, raising my cup of Japanese tea to them and sipping it.

"That was a mature statement mate. Praise to that." Amos toasted me and sipped from his tea, and we laughed.

"So... What do we talk about?" Zheng Yi sat back against a rock and we frowned dramatically.

"How about our favourite ice cream flavours?" Kaito suggested and we laughed.

"Vanilla. Pure..." I smiled, and Len frowned for a while.

"Banana?"

I looked at Piko whose face looked like that of deep concentration.

"There isn't a marshmallow flavour is it?" Piko asked, and the rest of us shook our head in unison.

"Vanilla, I think. It resembles marshmallows." Piko replied and we grinned. Looks like vocaloids are so-called extremely fixed on their character items that even the colour seems to affect their decisions.

"Chocolate." Amoz raised a hand, and Zheng Yi along with Mai followed suit.

"That leaves Allen and Kaito..." Mai said seriously, like a judge handing down a verdict to a prisoner bound for hanging.

"Blue sea salt aisu~" Kaito said childishly, just the same look I have when I stare at the lightsaber modification for Skyrim.

"Avocado..." Allen muttered, and we nodded.

"A unique flavour, most definitely. I eat only chocolate and vanilla. I'm boring and I know." I picked up a rice ball and started eating it, sighing in content of the comfort of the Hot Spring.

"What do we talk about next?" Zheng Yi said, and we sighed.

"Let's put ourselves in a girl's shoes. What's fourteen girls going to talk about on a cold winter night?" I asked, and the guys laughed together.

"Boys!" We said unanimously, and burst into fits of laughter.  
>"So are we supposed to do a counter-attack? Talk about girls?" Mai grinned and we considered that for a moment.<p>

"So, Kaito, tell me how Nicole-sama is to you." I said, arrowing the blue-haired person perked up, and he stared up at the stars.

"Don't be shy, Kaito. I am a boy too." I grinned evily at Kaito.

"Nicole-sama treats me very well... She gets food for me... Gives me my regular aisu dosage... Sings with me when all yourselves and other Vocaloids don't want to... Plays with me..." Kaito sighed, while staring at the star, but honestly, I can't tell what that sigh consisted of. Was it purely of content? Joy? But I thought I heard a sigh of sorrow as well. Disappointment? I doubt so...

"You don't need boys to hear you out. You need a Chaplin." Zheng Yi joked, and we went into laughing fits, though Kaito did not seem to think it was funny.

"Really? We can get married?" Kaito said and I looked at him incredulously.

"You do know that Nicole is in a relationship with Sou-kun? And you are not real?" I said bluntly, and he looked at himself for a while before sighing.

"Who is Sou-kun?" He demanded, but I shook my head. It was not my place to comment about this.

"Hey, stop being mean to Kaito... Talk about your Miku!" Amoz said, and I sank myself deeper into the comfort of the hot spring.

"She is one person that you won't feel sad around. She's very nice, but I still intend to crack down on her leek addiction, along with her princess attitude." I said firmly, and everyone raised an eyebrow.

"I never cracked down on Rin's orange addiction. " Amos declared-

"Nicole-sama didn't cut my aisu intake, you dictator!" Kaito berated me and threw a virtual rice ball at me.

"I never controlled Haku... She is a sensible girl..." Allen muttered, and Len was ranting about freedom of eating under the Geneva Convention ( One, the Geneva Convention was for humans, and two, there weren't any articles regarding bananas ).

"Luka never had a problem with her love for tuna. She knows how much is enough." Mai said, putting his hands against his head and resting against the rocks behind him.

This, we all knew pretty well. Luka was more mature than the other Vocaloids.

"Neru didn't have this food-related problem. Just a phone and... A katana..." Zheng Yi said, visibly shaken.

"Why are you so scared of this blade that can't touch you anyway?" Mai fired this question at Zheng Yi who gulped.

"Look. She has a fierce temper. And also, imagine what happens if that katana turns real for just one second." Zheng Yi said, and at first, the smiles on our faces became grins, and then it manifested into a laughing fit.

"Stop going on about me! Why are you cutting back on Miku's leek consumption?" Zheng Yi retaliated, but I merely shrugged.

"We have a mission right? To try and make Vocaloids as real as a human, be it emotional or behavioural? I know for one that eating 62 leeks in one sitting is not EXACTLY human." I replied, and the boys looked at each other.

"They will never be real, Barzini. Sorry to Kaito, Len and Piko though." Amos said, and turned to look at the vocaloids mentioned in the sentence.

"I know... I know.." I sighed, taking a sip of tea and munching on my rice-ball. Some part of me did wish that Hatsune Miku would become real, all the things we could have fun on... Sigh...

"Back to topic! How is Karina to you, shota?" Mai said, pointing a finger dramatically at Len and the yellow-haired boy pouted.

"I am not a shota! And Karina-sama treats me very well! She goes crazy with me, deals with my banana love-"

"Addiction." I corrected him, and he pouted.

"Shota as well." I added, and the puff around his cheeks got larger.

"It is love, and I am not a shota! Anyway, Karina-sama deals with my banana LOVE. Very nice to me... Well, at least she does not dictate me... And I think that's enough... Just that when I irritate her when she is writing that four pages long History essay, she will tell me to get lost or get uninstalled." Len said, glaring at me when he said the word, "dictate" and then shuddering at the term uninstall.

"Wait, what uninstall?" I asked, completely bewildered, but judging by the term, it wasn't a good word anyway.  
>"Yes, what uninstall?" Amoz asked, wide-eyed, and the Vocaloids exchanged glances with each other.<p>

"It's like deleting us. Like how you remove programs from the computer. When you don't want us anymore... It's really easy actually... Just ask Crypton's 24 hours hotline for a code and just read it aloud to us. We can even be sleeping when you do it. It's just nicer that way." Piko shrugged and we looked at each other.

"But you people are so life-like! That's like murder." Zheng Yi exclaimed and this silence fell over us.

Uninstall. Murder.

"Well anyway, how is my sister to you, Amoz-sama?" Len asked, and Amoz gave a nod and half-shrug. A non-commitable answer.

"She's okay. Though she has a tendency to lean to violence." He said simply, and sipped his cup of tea, and we laughed. That road roller incident was still fresh in our minds. It was hilarious.

"Hey Piko. Since all of us boys are here. Let me ask you. Do you have a flame going for Haku Yowane?" Mai asked, and Amoz spat out his cup of tea and we all laughed except Piko and Allen, with the latter staring at him.

"Why are you all staring at me like that?" Piko said defensively, and I shrugged with a grin on my face.

"Maybe because we are curious. Or maybe because we know it as a fact." I said, and Piko glared at me.

"Answer the question. Are you carrying a torch for Haku?" Mai said, using the tone that a policeman would have been proud of.

"Y- No. No. Of course not." Piko stammered, and we raised an eyebrow.

"Mr Utatane. You are avoiding a question! Are you, or are you not!" Zheng Yi pointed his finger accusingly and Piko gulped.

"Come on... Piko... That's what you expect in an all boys meeting. We don't go nudge nudge wink wink." Zheng Yi said, and we all echoed our agreement.

"I am not sure." Piko said, and Allen sipped his cup of tea.

"All I want is an answer from you now. Yes or no." The usually reserved Allen said, his voice sounding alarmingly threatening.

"I can say almost positively..." Piko started and we leaned forward-

"Most definitely..." He continued and we leaned in closer.

"Maybe." Piko said at long last after holding his breath for a few minutes and for some weird reason, we lost strength in our bodies and fell face first into the water.

"That's not an answer." Allen said, coughing out water, and Piko's face turned a faint red and I decided not to push any further.

"Hey, if a guy doesn't want to talk, it's human to not push!" I reasoned and Allen relented, and we got back to our original positions in the onsen.

"One more thing left unsolved... Kaito. Your turn." Mai said, and the usually air-headed blue haired boy, jumped and looked at us.

"What is it, Mai-sama?" He said, regaining his composure after a while.

"Your obsession on Nicole by human nature dictates on pen and paper, in black and white, that you have at the very least, a crush on her." I continued and Kaito stared at me silently for a while.

"I do? Do I?" He said, and we waited for his answer.

"I just care for Nicole-sama. If I have to give my life... My very existence for her, I would." Kaito said, staring right back at me.

"Very princely. But not our answer. Yes or no." I replied, staring back at him.

"Do I know what is the meaning of love?" Kaito asked me, this time, his gaze unsettling me.

"I-" I was about to reply and he shook his head.

"If I can become real... Yes... I'll love her with all my heart." Kaito absent-mindedly placed a hand over his chest while relaxing in the onsen, gazing at the stars.

Should I point out that he should give up? But that would be cruel, wouldn't it?

"Yukina... Let me say before you dangerous humans ask me... Yukina-chan is very nice to me... She brings me marshmallows every time she goes out... Kind..." Piko said without us asking and we nodded approvingly.

"Very commendable! Command thinking!" I said and Amoz laughed. Allen was however, looking disgruntled, sipping his tea and shooting Piko a look now and then.

"How is Haku to you, Allen?" I asked the boy and he looked at me casually before taking another bite out of that rice ball of his.

"Good." He said quietly, and we waited for a few more moments and when it became apparent he was not going to say more, we moved on.

"How about those girl pow pow groups?" I asked, and they whistled.

"Pow Pow? Meiko and Hannah are pow enough." Zheng Yi said, and Piko nodded.

"Their Sake combo attack has a high damage yield." Piko said, and I laughed.

"Why do they take to alcohol anyway?" Mai asked and looked at me.

"Hannah? It's a long story." I shrugged and took a bite out of my rice ball. I wasn't about to go and tell other people's secrets without their consent.

"Amy and Aki? How's that team?" Amoz grinned and we seemed to give that deep thought. Was it an easy or difficult answer?

"First, let us boys analyse character. She is nice. And hyper." Mai said, and Len cut in-

"Just like Rina over anime!"

"Yes, those two are practically best friends. In fact, I think they may be clones." Zheng Yi said and no one laughed at his lame joke.

"Aki… She's rather cute right?" I said, and everyone in that bloo- I mean, everyone in that onsen wolf-whistled.

"Oh! Oh! Pedo bear alert!" Amoz said in an irritating voice and I threw my hands up in surrender, and splashed water at him.

"Bloody hell. I don't pedo!" I said defensively and the boys narrowed their eyes at me.

"Very guilty. Very guilty indeed. The defensiveness of a man guilty of his crimes. I watched it all on NCIS." Amoz said and I rolled my eyes, sipping my cup of tea which was almost finished.

"We all know Barzini is better than that!" Kaito added, and for once, the blue-haired person had my gratitude for rushing to my-

"He chooses younger girls." He continued, and that gratitude that formed around him died.

"Alright! Fine! I pedo on little kids! Happy?" I said, and the boys applauded jokingly.

"A true man admits all his imperfect points." Mai said, and I couldn't help but laugh at that statement.

"We still have Michelle and SeeU!" Piko pointed out and we closed our eyes and thought it out.

"Both are cat fanatics."

"Alright! Meeting adjourned!" I declared and we all got out of the onsen. To the room. TO OUR ROOM!

Xxx

As I walked along the corridor to my room, my mind was somehow on Miku, has that girl eaten? Just nice... A man was pushing a trolley laden with food down the corridor.

"Konbanwa!" I said and the man looked at me surprised.

"Over there!" I pointed behind him and as he turned, I took a photo of the entire trolley that was carrying food and pocketed my phone as he turned back around, thoroughly confused.

"Arigatou." I said, patting him on the shoulder, and grinned as he looked at me questioningly and entered the room, and Hatsune Miku was watching television.

"Hewwo! Barzini-sama!" Miku jumped up from bed and waved at me with both of her hands, and I waved back.

"Miku, hungry?" I asked, and she pat her stomach for a while, and seemed to consider that question before nodding and jumping.

"Hai! HUNGWY!" She said, and I activated the vocalizing option, and fell onto bed, and Miku sat beside me.

"Is there anything nice on television?" I asked her, and she seemed to consider it for a moment.

"Me! ME PERFORMING!" She said and I rolled my eyes, if I came all the way to Japan to watch a Tokyo Giving Day concert by her... When she can perform right in front of me, it will be defeating the purpose.

"I meant like super cool Japanese dramas? But please. Please. No Korean styled kind... The kind where male goes after girl or vice versa..." I said, laying my head on the pillow, a bit tired.

"Oh yes... Miku pass me my laptop..." I said, and there was this uneasy silence from her before the engine in my brain whirred back up.

"Of course, and as the Japanese say it, gomenasai." I said, and bowed, and she bowed back, her turquoise hair touching the floor.

"Daijobu!" She said, and she changed the channel, and this suave Japanese appeared, talking to this 40+ or 50+ year old man along with a young girl behind this handsome, dashing young man.

"What's this?" I asked, and she threw the remote aside as the food trolley appeared in the room, having completely been vocalized.

"Arigatou! Barzini-sama! Liar Game!" She said, picking up a bowl of curry soup noodles, and she stared at the noodles for a while, and she suddenly clapped her hands together, and took out the small container holding pepper and started adding it in.

"Are you sure?" I said, pointing at the pepper and she nodded her head, a big smile on that lips of hers.

"Itadakimasu!" She said, and the moment she put a mouthful of curry soup noodles in her mouth, her eyes opened wide and she dropped her chopsticks and stood up, and started running around in circles in the room, and I sprung up from bed and looked up and down the trolley.

"Miku! Drink it!" I said, pointing at the bottle of orange juice in the trolley, but she had already gone to the bathroom and started gulping water from the tap.

"Waaargh!" You can hear her exclaim between mouthfuls of water and I burst out laughing and fluffed up my pillow and leaned against it while watching Liar game.

By the time she came out, I was already on my laptop, connected to the wifi, and going about on facebook saying happy birthdays to friends, and uploading the many pictures on my DSLR.

"Barzini-sama! Pictures! Many! Many pictures!" She said, rubbing the sides of her mouth, and sitting beside me with her own laptop on.

"Miku, can you-" I was about to ask her to tag everyone which I didn't know, when I accidentally refreshed my the page with the photos and I could see a mad but gradual process of Miku tagging people in the picture.

I turned to look at her and she was clicking away merrily on the faces of the people in the picture.

"You are fast." I said, and she nodded happily.

"Arigatou gozaimasu!" She grinned.

Xxx

"Open the gates! OPEN THE GATES!" I shouted as the elvish horn sounded across Helm's Deep, and the elves in their gleaming armours of gold, and great bows of oak marched across the plains and into helm's deep, and me, a Rohirrim guard, holding a sturdy wooden shield, gripping a spear of malice, ready to bury it in the Uruk-Hai that was about to march and vanquish us-

"Barzini-sama! Wake up!"

As my dream land came crashing down about me, my brain revved up and I realised that horn blow was in fact my messaging alert tone.

"Mhm... I'm up..." I murmured and picked up my phone, to view the text.

"We need to be down there by 9.30am." I said, and stood up slowly, and ambled like an old man to the bathroom.

"Barzini-sama! OLD~!"

Xxx

With my Levi Strauss sling bag around me, filled with the bare essentials for a typical geek, and dressed in two layers of sweaters and jackets.

"Miku. Look at Kaito." I whispered to her, and she turned to see, and she exclaimed-

"Barzini! This is the first time I see Kai Kai with no aisu!"

At first that sentence didn't hit me, until the term Kai Kai struck me.

"Since when was I Kai Kai to you!" Kaito said indignantly, and my mouth opened at the same time.

"Since when was he Kai Kai to you!"

Then, Kaito turned to Nicole childishly before answering coolly, which was a great surprise since he had been the epitome of childishness in all my diary entries.

"It's Ka-i-to! And nothing else!" He replied forcefully, and I raised an eyebrow in surprise, before I noted that Nicole started moving closer to Miku and they exchanged a few sentences before moving apart.

"Kaito... When did he become like this?" I muttered to myself before rounding on the two girls.

"What was that..."

"Nothing... Nothing..." They waved me off and I frowned.

Was Kaito trying to act cool?

Only one way to find out...

As the clock edged to 10, a bus pulled up and I kept talking to Nicole so that she would be the second last to board, and ushered Miku onto the bus before me, till only Kaito and me were waiting our time to board the bus.

"Hey Kaito! Aisu!" I squealed, pointing behind him, and that cool, composed personality of his melted away and his eyes sparkled as he turned around and swayed to the direction in which I was pointing.

"Aisu~!" He sang, his hands at his side and turning about the spot like a little child, and I laughed, and he suddenly turned around to face me.

"Gotcha!" I winked and his face started giving a look of despair, and I saluted him, before going to where Miku was sitting.

"What happened, Barzini-sama?" She asked, as Kaito boarded the bus looking down.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" I laughed in reply.

Xxx

After we left Crypton, and had some food, and apparently due to the fact that I was going to make a small fortune, I decided it was high time I do some shopping on my own.

"Are you all going to Sapporo Snow Festival?" I asked, and they all nodded.

"Alright, see you guys there! Maybe!" I laughed, and gestured at Miku as a streetcar drove by and I hopped aboard.

"Sapporo... I like how we get around." I sighed and sat back in my seat as the Sapporo Streetcar drove around the city, and Miku sighed in equal contentment, with the small, quiet train carriage moving about the city. In Singapore, when you take the train at the major lines at any time of the day, you feel like a canned sardine in a battlefield. Crammed and noisy.

But here...

I was still getting used to drawing looks with curious onlookers from passer-bys and all. After all, Hatsune Miku had been the face of Sapporo for a good 5 years or so. And especially with the Sapporo Snow Festival being such a big event, it was kind of funny to walk past a supermarket where their windows have Miku's face on it, promoting the Snow Festival.

As the Streetcar slowed down beside Tenshi College, a group of boy and girls who look to be around my age walked on board, and they were busy giggling among themselves, or reading quietly. Not the typical Singapore scene where the bus becomes an instant racket more or less. It's a good change.

It took about five or six seconds for them to realise that Hatsune Miku was sitting on their streetcar, and the effect was...

They started pointing at us, and I started feeling uncomfortable again, but I ought to get used to it wouldn't I?

"Issho ni shashin wo tottemoii desu ka?" A girl from the nearby group of Japanese girls walked up and asked Miku, and I looked at her in confusion.

"She wants to take a picture with me!" Miku smiled, and looked at me for approval and I nodded.

"Mochiron!" She beamed and she sprung up from her seat, her jacket's fluff bouncing as she skipped to the Japanese girls who started squealing and trying to poke her, but their inexperience just let their hands sink right through instead.

Then the same Japanese girl who approached her took out a Polaroid, and she looked around the carriage as the group of girls started to talk to Miku who replied in fluent Japanese, and don't mind me saying, relatively cute as well. Her white jacket was the exact one you see on the Miku snow nendroids, which made her public appearance all the more... Uhm...

"Watashi, Miku-chan no dai fan desu!" One of the girls squealed, and Miku gave her a hug, and though the girl couldn't feel it, she squealed and started jumping up and down.

"Eto..." The girl approached me and pointed at herself, then the group of girls around Miku, and then at the Polaroid camera in her hand, and I nodded.

"Sure." I took the offered Polaroid camera, and then they huddled around Miku, forming the typical V sign with their hands, but Miku however-

She placed both her hands together, forming the finger gun, and pouted, and squealed-

"Bang~!" She winked, and I pressed the trigger on the camera, and the camera flashed, and they changed their pose. I took the photo that was hanging out front, and raised the camera to eye level again.

"1, 2 ,3! NEGI~!" Miku leant forward, holding two leeks at the side of her face, and winked. The girls behind leant forward as well, making funny faces, and the camera flashed once more, and the Polaroid camera spat out a photo.

"Arigatou!" The Japanese schoolgirl came forward and took the pictures and camera from me, and went back to her giggling friends, and Miku seemed eager to see the photos, and she squealed at the photos.

"Atashi chou kawaii!" Miku squealed, touching her cheeks with her hands, and smiled, and prompted everyone in the carriage (except me, I don't speak Japanese) to laugh.

I held my DSLR in my hand, and walked towards Miku, who was smiling at the photo in her hand.

"Eh, Miku, translate for me. I got some things to ask of them!" I whispered, and Miku nodded and turned to the group of girls.

"Ask them where is a good place to shop for anime goods." I told Miku, and she fired away in rapid Japanese, and one of the girls answered just as quickly as the question was served.

"Mandarake Sapporo!" She answered, and it was clearly the name of a store or departmental store, and Miku appeared to have also ask for directions as she started pointing to a certain direction, and Miku seemed to keep on nodding, leaving me completely bemused.

"Okay! I know where it is now! Next question?"

"Tell them it is for your facebook. We take a proper picture with a DSLR." I said, and Miku relayed the message to them, and they huddled up together, big smiles on their faces, while Miku cheekily knelt down and holding up the V sign with both her hands and stuck out her tongue, and I pressed the trigger of the camera, and that familiar click sounded, and I snapped four more shots of various poses, and I bowed politely.

"Facebook de watashi wo tsuika kudasai?" One of the Japanese schoolgirls with shoulder length hair asked Miku and she nodded almost instantly. True, I don't understand Japanese but the word Facebook is a universal term.

"Ah... Amaya Hara!" The girl squeaked, and Miku opened her laptop and turned the screen to her, and after a while, the Japanese girl pointed on the screen, and Miku seemed to click on it, and the girl squealed and started jumping about.

Great. A mass Facebook adding session. I hope she doesn't spam them.

Xxx

"Let me get this straight... You added every girl on that Streetcar we were on." I asked as we walked down the cold roads of Sapporo to the anime store, in which Miku seemed to know where she was going.

Apparently, after adding that one girl, she walked deeper and deeper into the girl group and somehow added every girl on that Streetcar on Facebook.

"Okay..." I said as I pulled my jacket closer to me. A temperature like that of Sapporo was miles apart compared to the microwave country known as Singapore, one degree North of the Equator.

"And they want those 5 photos on Facebook as soon as possible! Barzini-sama and his usual inefficiency!" She pouted, strutting down the street beside me and I looked at her, utterly shocked.

"Inefficiency? INEFFICIENCY? I pride myself on completing things faster than everyone with superior quality... You... You..." I raised my finger dramatically at her, and she gave a HMPH and lifted her nose into the air.

"Fine fine... You're efficient... So deadly efficient... I'm terrified, Barzini-sama!" She turned to me and pretended to be frightened and started running, and I rolled my eyes and chased after her.

"Yus! Run! Or I'll kill you with deadly efficiency!" I laughed and chased after her. It must have been a curious sight. A human chasing a giggling Vocaloid down the streets of Sapporo, of course, the chase led us to the anime shop, or rather, otaku store. You can tell that you weren't lost, because firstly, the store was two stories high, and the display windows had various costumes which I could recognise.

Mandarake Sapporo huh...

I walked in and it had a few people my age in it, both males and females, and the lady at the counter who looked 18 bowed, dressed in an Ouran High uniform, and Miku skipped over to her, and the lady looked pleasantly surprised.

Apparently Miku said something about me and the lady looked at me and smiled politely, and after a little more of Japanese, the lady took out a camera and Miku stood beside her, and they both stared at the camera, smiling and the lady took a photo of them together and bowed.

Then Miku seemed to ask her about... Herself? Because she kept pointing at herself, and the lady laughed and pointed at the staircase, and Miku came back to me.

"Come, Barzini-sama!" She said, and I followed her as we went upstairs, and the first place she led me to was the Vocaloid section-

Correction: The Hatsune Miku section which dwarfed the rest.

"Why would you drag me to your own section?" I asked her, completely bemused.

"There is nothing else to see but me! ME! AND ME ONLY!" She pouted, leaning forward and winking.

"Oh well... I was expecting to buy lots of Vocaloid merchandise too..." I said, picking up a box of Miku Snow Nendroid, which was rather cute.

"Look here Miku. See how cute this nendroid is? I wonder what happened to you." I grinned, and Miku stuck out her tongue.

"Baka baka!" She said, bending over to examine SeeU's figurines and merchandise on the other side while I went to pick up a shopping basket.

"Yes yes... I'm the idiot... I can take it..." I said casually as I dropped Miku figurines into the basket. Not the creepy dolls though, they look too real and chills my bones. I am particularly fond of the nendroids and slightly larger figurines. I was bending down to look at a Hatsune Miku poster when Miku squealed.

"Kawaii! I want!" Miku squealed pointing at herself- I mean, her figurine, sitting inside a leek-shaped car.

"Yep… It's pretty cute, I guess." I said, picking it up to take a good long look at it.

"What do you mean by I guess? I AM CUTE!" She said putting a finger at each side of her cheek and winking.

"Yep, yep you are." I smiled and placed it into the basket, along with the rest of the Miku nendroids in various costumes and figurines. I even took that insanely expensive Love Is War figurine, and my heart is heavy with guilt from spending so much. But I'm happy.

Miku and I slowly walked our way through the Vocaloid section, with me stopping now and then to pick up a figurine off the shelf of the other Vocaloids, while SeeU's seemed the most intricately designed, probably due to her hair anyway.

"Hey, Barzini-sama! Guess the age of the lady at the counter?" Miku asked, leaning forward a little and I looked at her before examining a Haku Yowane nendroid, which had a sad look on her face.

"17? 22 at worst." I said, placing the nendroid into the basket, and she went-

"Nuh! Nuh! Nuh! Guess again!" She said, waving a leek in my face that she had pulled out from her jacket.

"16? 15?" I said, looking at her and she smiled, shaking her head vigorously.

"She can't be 14..." I said exasperatedly, and Miku sighed dramatically.

"Is a baka, and will always be a baka. Baka baka~!" She chimed, and I laughed, heading to the Shakugan no Shana section now.

"What, forty?" I said jokingly and Miku shook her head.

"Close!" Miku said and I looked at her disbelievingly.

"Thirty-nine." I said and she threw her leek into the air.

"Perfect! You got it right!" She cheered, and my mouth fell open. I was not about to believe that a lady dressed in an Ouran High uniform, took a photo with Miku in a kawaii pose, and looks like a part-time schoolgirl, is actually a full-time 39 year old.

"I am not buying that." I said, while holding a Shakugan no Shana katana, which was the real deal. I wonder how troublesome it would be to get it approved as a collector's item?

"You're not buying the katana?" Miku asked, and I shook my head, and turned to her.

"As in, I'm not buying the fact that you presented that the lady is 39 years old." I said, holding up the katana and wowing at the price tag. It was a killer.

"Whatever. I want it either way." I sighed, and looked at the amount of things inside my basket and I frowned. Looks like I have to go back to store all these in my room as the second invasion phase of Vocaloid looting is yet to be done at the Sapporo Snow Festival.

"Okay, let's pay up?" I smiled at Miku who smiled and bowed, her hood falling forward comically.  
>When we reached the counter, I had to resist the extremely strong temptation to ask the lady who had a very polite smile on her face what her age was as I took out my wallet and coughed up about two-thirds of the Crypton allowance.<p>

"Arigatou Gozaimashita! Mata kite kudasai!" She bowed, her hair falling to her side, and I bowed a little as well, carrying the two huge bags of merchandise, excluding the katana which I had asked to be shipped to my dormitory in Singapore. Of course, you would have to go through the messy process of informing Customs and be interviewed and declared mentally sane to possess such a lethal weapon.

Oh well, anything for a katana to put at home right?

Xxx

"How should we go back to the hotel?" I sighed, holding two bags in which the shop keeper that looked super young took considerate effort to give me one which was a Shakugan no Shana shopping bag and another which had a picture of Hatsune Miku on it. Inside those bags were more of the two bags, as I had cheekily asked for them.

"Cab?" I asked Miku who nodded, and slowly, I felt something land on my shoulder and I looked at it. It was a white fluff of snow. Looking up, I saw that the snow had started falling, and I smiled, and held my DSLR, and took a street show, which showed a lot of people standing there, just looking at the snow falling gently upon their faces and shoulders. As I took more, suddenly, this HUGE blue eye popped up in my camera, and I squealed, letting go of my DSLR, which was thankfully hung around my neck.

"Why did you do that?" I snapped at Miku who pouted.

"Why would you take pictures of other people when you can take pictures of me?" She huffed and did a kawaii post, and I sighed, and pressed the trigger to take a picture of her, and I showed it to her, and she frowned.

"What's wrong?" I said, and she sighed.

"Something is missing..." She puffed her cheeks up, and she then rushed over to a schoolboy walking by, and started speaking in frantic Jap and seemed to gesture for him to follow, and as she spoke, he nodded and walked towards me, and extended his hand towards me, as if expecting something from me.

"Pass him your camera, Barzini-san!" She gestured frantically as if we were in a hurry, and I obeyed, and Miku went to put a hand on my shoulder, as if leaning on me, and she winked at the camera, and I somehow managed to pull off a smile, and the camera flashed.

"Arigatou!" Miku bowed to the schoolboy who looked flustered, and I bowed back politely as well, taking back the camera, and I looked at the picture and laughed. My face looked so stoned.

"Barzini-sama! Shall we go back to the hotel?"

"How far is it by walking?" I asked her, and she pulled out her Vocalized iPhone 4 and seemed to use Google Maps.

"Three hours?"

"Nooo! Forget it! Let's take a cab!"

Xxx

"So many things... And also, Miku... Remind me to buy things for the group members... As a sign of thank you..." I said, while setting down my items, and Miku nodded, changing into a snow white winter clothes.

"Pretty Miku!" I said, and she blushed faintly and pouted.

"Arigatou." She muttered and turned away, and picked up a riceball on the trolley and she looked at the night sky from the window.

"Barzini-sama. Sapporo Snow festival?" She asked, and I nodded, pulling out another jacket and putting an additional layer over my current one.

"Miku. Let's go?"

"LET'S GO!" She said, punching the air.

"Wait, Barzini-sama! Streetcar or taxi?" She asked, and I frowned.

"Streetcar! When in Rome, do what the Romans do." I replied promptly, and she bowed, her hair touching the carpeted floor of the hotel room.

"Yosh!"

Xxx

"Barzini-sama. Explain."

"What?" I replied, not looking at her out of embarrassment.

"Why are we in a taxi?" She asked, I know full well she was staring at me, and I could feel my own face getting warmer.

What happened? Oh...

"Barzini-sama! The Streetcar! Run! Run!" Miku had squealed the moment we had left the hotel, and took off running after the streetcar that was buzzing down the street. True, if I really wanted to chase it, it was a cinch. No problem at all... But...

"Forget it! We're taking the cab!" I said lazily, and hopped aboard one that was conveniently outside of the hotel entrance.

So...

"Barzini-sama. Baka!" Miku said, lifting her nose high up in the air and going "HMPH!" and staring at the snowflakes floating down gently from the heavens above.

As the taxi made turns and bends, my camera was not idle either. I had rolled down the passenger window and stretched my camera out, and the clicking sound from the shutter went on and on.

"Oh yes, Barzini-sama..." I heard Miku whisper and I turned around, and it seemed to be a matter of utmost urgency.

"Kaito told me this... You were planning to stop producing chewy chocolate... and you are a master of mind control... And you wanted to break all pocky! Oh, and you brain controlled Willy Wonka so he would stop making chewy chocolate!" She whispered urgently, and I couldn't believe what I had heard. Nicole wanted to play? I'll play this game to the end.

"Look... Nicole works for the Communists and has ties in Latvia, Moldova, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Singapore. She poisoned all the chewy chocolate so she could brain control everyone with it! So, I had to control Willy Wonka so he would stop making them! So, she killed him to cover up her tracks!" I said, and Miku gasped.

"Pocky. It was a regrettable incident. It was an accident. Our leader received some false information from a mole in our agency planted by Nicole... And it was a tragic accident... She orchestrated it from the very beginning! A mastermind!" I said forcefully and Miku gasped, trying to absorb the magnitude of the situation.

"This is too much for me to understand. I do not bother!" Miku said, and she rested her head against the seat and I did the same.

"I do not bother too..." I sighed and closed my eyes, resting for that short moment.

Xxx

When we arrived at the Sapporo snow festival, the crowd was not big, but manageable. You still had plenty of room to move about, kneel down, take photos of someone posing, as I could clearly see Haku standing in front of a Miku snow statue, looking shyly at Allen's camera and that of many others, who were obviously fans.

I stood behind Allen and Miku was watching them eagerly, while I took pictures of Haku, Miku went-

"GO! GO! HAKU!" She said loudly, and everyone turned around, and the star of the Sapporo Snow Festival was there.

"Konbanwa minna-san!" Miku bowed and knelt down in front of Haku Yowane, holding out her two hands in a V shape, and Haku smiled shyly and did the same, and the cameras flashed.

"Hey Allen." I said, and he gave me a nod of recognition before moving away to take more photos.

"Miku, I'll see you around! Looks like you're busy!" I said, and she winked at me and laughing, I went about taking pictures of the snow sculptures, which ranged from the Tokyo tower, to...

An egg like dome.

"Kaito!" I heard some girls squeal and there he was, signing off autographs on touch activated papers that Nicole had brought around with her.

Nicole looked like those following entourages who helped those stars carry their luggage around, just that this one was paper.

In fact, as I looked around me, every vocaloid and their owners were being photographed or being asked for autographs. Except me of course. Because Miku was now with Haku Yowane and not at my side.

As I approached the souvenir booth, I saw that Michelle was there as well, bent over the various items, and SeeU was not at her side, by some distance behind her, where people were asking to pose for photographs.

"I see you managed to get them attention away from you..." She said, picking up a snow Miku nendroid and reaching into her purse.

"Yep... I did..." I replied, picking up one of everything, which ranged from snow nendroids to Miku snow plushies.

"Did you know that there would be a mini concert of a hologram Miku later?" She whispered and I laughed at that thought.

"Miku would be angry." I said and she giggled.

"Look! It's happening now!" Michelle said as I paid the souvenir vendor and I looked at the stage, and true, a snow Miku was on the stage and suddenly-

"WHAT? WHAT IS THIS CHEAP COPY OF ME?" I watched as Miku stumbled onto stage beside the hologram, and the organisers' jaws practically fell open.

"Minna sama konbanwa! Honmono no watashi uta wo utaute misemimashou! Kono yasu kopi ja nai!" She said determinedly, and I froze. What was she going to do?

"Kocchi Muite baby!" She pointed at the band who hurriedly flipped through their scores and Miku raised one hand, and counted-

"One, two. One two three! Yeah!" She said, and started punching her hands in the air as if doing some sort of cheer, and at the electric guitar strumming part, she waved her hands in circles like a rockstar.

"Tsuyogatte bakka de nanka... Sonshiteru ki ga suru datte sou jan..." She sang, walking casually along the stage as she projected her cute voice down to the audience.

"Anna koto toka, yada... donna koto?" She said in mock horror before she continued-

"Kimi tte donkan! Ne!" She said, and leaned her body forward, before leaping up energetically and singing, her eyes closed as she jumped around the stage and waving her hands in the air-

"Chanto kocchi muite Baby... No nante iwasenai wa... honki moodo nan dakara!" She sang and leaned forward and winked at the cheering audience, before straightening back up and continuing, skipping along the stage, and waving to the audience.

"Ijihatte bakka de nanka...shoujiki ni narenai shou ga nai jan!" Miku sang that while shaking her head and sighing dramatically, before bending forward suddenly and holding up a finger when she reached the "tte chotto matte!" part.

Then as she continued singing, she carried the air of an arrogant schoolgirl while walking about the stage and sending the crowd crazy with her sweet voice and cute poses. Filming with my iPhone all along, I couldn't help but nod my head with the rhythm.

"...Watashi mou shiranain dakara... omowazu kamacchaitaku naru youna no mo! Ii Kara, etto ima no wa nashi nash~!" Miku covered her mouth at the end of the sentence and at the last line-

"Nani yo mou monku anno~!" She dragged the last note and leaned forward slowly before winking at the audience, and as the drums silenced, Miku bowed and got off the stage, with a wild crowd cheering-

"Hatsune Miku! Hatsune Miku!" The crowd roared, as puzzled organisers huddled among each other to discuss a solution.

"Minna sama! Arigatou gozaimasu! Watashi no ensou wa kou yatte, wakaru! Bye bye!" She waved to the crowd and stepped off the stage.

"Michelle, with your limited Japanese vocabulary. Translate." I said, and Michelle closed her eyes and scratched her head.

"I think it's something about... this is how I do concerts, got that?" Michelle burst out laughing and when Miku suddenly started looking around-

"Barzini-sama! Barzini-sama! Let's go back! I'm bored now!" She cried out in her high voice, squinting her eyes to look for me, and roughly, I pulled Michelle's scarf away much to her shock and masked myself with it, and waved hastily to Michelle, and walked to Miku.

"Let's go." I said, my voice muffled, and Miku squinted her eyes and I looked her back, and she cheered.

"Barzini-sama! Did you see my performance?" Miku was saying, and the fans gathered around the stage started flashing the camera at us. Thankfully, Michelle's scarf had covered my face.

"Let's go!" I said forcefully, but not before bowing apologetically in the direction of the organisers before grabbing the bag of souvenirs I had left at the stand and running off, leaving behind an extremely confused Michelle.

"We'll meet all of you at the hotel!" I shouted, but not turning back to look at Michelle, and jumped into a taxi, and I hurried Miku into it.

"What the heck did you do?" I said, turning to stare at her, and as the taxi left the crowd behind us, I pulled off Michelle's scarf.

"I was showing that cheap copy how I do things!" Miku pouted and folded her arms, giving that "HMPH!" of hers.

"If it wasn't for that cheap copy, you wouldn't be performing until this actual you came about!" I said, and fell back onto the seat, utterly exhausted from that adrenaline burst.

"Are you angry at me?" Miku asked, and I yawned.

"Just remember that when you pull meaningful antics, make sure that I got something to cover my face with first." I laughed and Miku burst out laughing with me.

That's right. That hologram. It is a cheap copy of my version of Hatsune Miku. Hear that?

A cheap copy!

Xxx

As I looked at my watch while I told the taxi to drive about aimlessly, the driver seemed to take us to Miyanomori, as the street sign stated while driving by.

"Miku... Ask where we are going?" I said, and Miku leaned forward and jabbered away in rapid Japanese and the driver replied in equally furious Japanese.

"Cable cars! Mount Okura observatory!" Miku cheered, and I nodded slowly, and opened my wallet, and I turned to the driver.

"DBS Sapporo!" I said, and the driver nodded, and swung back into the city after splitting at a junction, and after 20-30 minutes, the taxi pulled to a stop beside a bank, and I looked at the meter and paid him accordingly.

"Chotto. Chotto." I said, and passed the money to him, and exited the cab, and took out my bank book and stood at the machine, and slid it into the machine to update it.

I earned 1200 USD today. Not bad.

I withdrew 500 and walked further down to exchange them to yen, which was about 41,000 yen, which I hesitated before I stuffed it into my wallet, and walked back to the taxi, in which Miku was apparently conversing with the taxi driver.

"M-Mount Okura!" I said, struggling to say observatory in Japanese because I obviously did not know what the Japanese phrase was, but the driver seemed to understand, and he reset his meter, and started driving.

"What do you do there?" I asked Miku and when I heard no reply while taking photos of the night sky, and I turned around and saw that she had already fallen asleep.

I smiled, and laid back in the seat. A few photographs fewer wouldn't hurt...

Xxx

I felt someone nudging me, not too gently, and opened my eyelids, and saw the taxi driver trying to wake me up.

"You here." He said in fragmented English, and I nodded, and poked at the virtual body of Hatsune Miku to wake up.

"Yawn~ Konbanwa, Barzini-sama~!" She said, yawning dramatically, and rubbed her eyes, and I took out my wallet and paid off the taxi driver, and made to get out when he suddenly turned to Miku and said something in Japanese.

"Hai! Arigatou gozaimasu!" Miku said to the taxi driver, before I closed the door.

"What was that about?" I asked her, and she jumped on the spot.

"He said that we have to take a bus back and the only way back is tomorrow dawn!" She said, bowing to me and I frowned.

"So late?" I asked and she jumped-

"Yes! Yes!" She said and my jaw fell.

Dawn?

Does my body even have enough power to stay awake till then?

Xxx

"500 yen." The puffy eyed man rumbled as he pointed at the cable car ride leading up to the mountain.

Taking out my wallet, I handed over two 500 Yen bills, and Miku went into it, much to the surprise of a lot of Japanese couples.

Did I say a lot?

I meant all. Every single one of them were holding hands with their companion, with the females having their heads on the male's shoulder.

I was squirming about uncomfortably in my seat and trying to look down or away, when Miku suddenly laid her head on my shoulder.

"Why the heck are you doing that?" I whispered urgently, a faint blush coming to my warm face.

"Everyone is doing it. Yawn~!" She said, and I had to resist half an urge to push her away and another to just close my eyes and sleep.

"Just this once…" I muttered and took out my DSLR and turned around to face the window of the cable car and started taking photos of the magnificent night view. From here, Sapporo just looked like a gathering of lights, and the stars above them were so pretty… In Singapore, you rarely see a starry night in the nation, or never in your life. For all the years in Singapore I had spent, I haven't seen a night full of stars.

"So pretty…" I muttered and I heard Miku mutter something…

"N-Negi…"

Are leeks really better than stars to her?

Xxx

As the cable car pulled to a stop, there were several food vans, serving things from rice balls to even unagi.

"The stars are so nicey!" Miku said, holding her hands apart and spinning on the spot, and I took a photo of her doing that. And the photo was amazing. Miku had her pose under a tree, which was cloaked with snow, and at the night sky, the stars were gleaming brightly.

"Barzini-sama! Take a photo with me!" She said, and I relented, moving to stand beside her, and faced the camera towards us and clicked, the moment being absorbed into a memory stick for future viewing.

"Barzini-sama! I'm hungry!" Miku said, rubbing her stomach, and I was going to walk over to the stand when I saw a hand around mine.

"What are you doing that for?" I stopped abruptly in my tracks and Miku pointed at every couple around us.

"To appear natural, Barzini-sama." She whispered, and I gulped.

When I watched the Godfather, a famous film in 1972, a bodyguard of the main character, Michael Corleone, had remarked to Michael shortly after Michael saw a beautiful lady in Sicily.

"In Sicily, women are more dangerous than shotguns."

As I look at Miku behaving oddly, that term in a modified version popped up.

"In Sapporo, women are more dangerous than leeks."

"Stop! Stop!" I muttered and she let go.

"Barzini-sama hidoi!" She pouted and walked over to the food van and sat down on a stool around a small table.

"Ramen. Ramen." I said to the man who was at the counter and he nodded, and I paid him, while buying a cup of coffee and making a vocaloid copy for Miku.

"No tea, Barzini-sama?" She asked, and I held my hand up, meaning wait, while I sipped the cup of hot coffee and let the comfort of warmth go through me.

"You know, Miku. Down in Singapore, we would never have such nice skies as they do in Sapporo." I remarked to Miku who nodded, and sipped the coffee, and some of the colour came back to her face, which had more or less been freezing despite her Snow Miku attire.

"Miku, tea?" I asked, getting up, and she nodded, smiling, and I got two cups of tea for myself, and got her another two cups of tea with my iPhone, which we started sipping, and the man at the counter brought me a bowl of Ramenm and Miku's stomach rumbled.

Taking out my phone, I checked the history of vocalized items, and I cloned the same food trolley I got in the hotel, and Miku clapped.

"Yay! Arigatou gozaimasu!" She cheered and took a bowl of Ramen off it, and with a great smile on her face, she looked at me.

"Itadakimasu!" Miku and I said, and laughed, drawing curious looks from passer-bys who are also couples. What an odd couple this was, on Mount Okura.

Xxx

"Sugoi!" Miku exclaimed as she looked through the binoculars set up which had a great view of the mountains and lakes around here, with the snow covering the peaks of the mountains and with a layer of ice on the latter.

"I agree, Miku!" I exclaimed as I surveyed the surroundings slowly, with either my camera while taking photos or swapping to the binoculars to examine every little detail.

"This is one trip I will never forget… Never…" I muttered to myself, leaning against the railing and sighing in content.

"Barzini-sama! What did you intend to buy for the people of the group?" Miku asked, moving to stand beside me.

"The stars… They are so bright…" I muttered as I looked, Miku cocked her head and looked at me.

"Barzini-sama?"

"Yes. Yes?" I said, snapping out of my dream land.

"What did you plan on buying for the people of the group? And why though?" She asked and I considered that question for a minute.

"It's polite to do so… Because they did work very hard and gotten us this far… And… I was wondering on getting Len and Kaito maid costumes. What do you think?"

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>There! Another chapter completed! ^_^<br>My school starts in late April, but my co-author's school has already entered a critical moment, so I plead with you all to allow time for her chapter. We have not forgotten about our readers! And also, we will definitely update, but it takes time. Especially for her.**

**Thank you for understanding!**

**So how is life with you all? I hope it is great :D Till next time!**

**Barzini **


	14. Chapter 14

"Ski! Ski!" Amy bounced, she was hopping straight to the door, as the rest of us struggled with our overnight bags. The door swung open and smacked her in the face and if that wasn't bad enough she got caught in a whirl of turquoise too.

"…and Barzini!" Miku said animatedly, turning and whipping her back towards the door and pushing it open, unaware of anything that was going on when Miku realised that Barzini's expression changed subtly.

"Uh…Miku…" and then she finally realised her unintentional accident.

"Gomenasai!" Miku said bowing. Rubbing her nose Amy said, "I'm good! But since you own me one now! You have to go skiing with us!" She grabbed both of them and dragged them off to their rooms. 'Save me' Barzini mouthed. 'It'll be fun' I mouthed back. They left the rest of us blinking in their wake.

Now, while waiting for Barzini and Miku to pack, I shall explain what exactly is going on, you see, Amy and I decided on a two day ski trip and as usual we dragged everyone else along, and it wasn't hard considering Amy's infectious enthusiasm, but then we realised that Barzini and Miku had their first, what I assumed to be their lovey dovey date somewhere in the mountains knowing Barzini. Just nice they came back in time though, poor them being dragged out again just after returning, but ah well, we were gonna have blast!

Xxx

Ten minutes later…

"Everyone has their stuff?" Karina asked, looking around.

Everyone nodded, "Yep!"

"Ok! Then let's go!" I said. I took one step forward when simultaneously our cell phones beeped.

Pulling off my gloves, I reached for my phone. When Mai read out the first line of the message…

_Ohayou! Sorry to disturb you on your early morning ski trip…_

And there I was thinking how the people at Crypton even knew we had a ski trip, when Zhengyi continued…

_There is some news to the latest development in your vocaloids software…_

_As it was just perfected today…thus we did not tell you during bthe visit to the company till it was complete. _Michelle read.

Then Aki squealed. _The latest developments would be the ability to chibify your vocaloids as and when you like._

_Command code for chibifying will be your vocaloid's name with the word 'chibi' behind it issued as a voice recognition command. _Karina said excitedly.

"Rin chibi!" Amoz shouted. Instantly Rin shrunk down to her chibi size. "Amoz! Wai you do that for! Reverse!" she squealed to him from the ground.

_Reversal for the chibifying process would be the voice command 'chibi reversal'. _Yukina softly said.

_If any glitches occur…which we trust there should be none, please contact this number. _Hannah continued.

_Thus, we hope you will utilize this latest function…P.S. I recommend Risutsu ski resort if you haven't picked a place yet. _I ended the message.

"Miku chibi!" Barzini said. Scooping chibi Miku on to his head.

"The limo is waiting people!" Aki waved from Amy shoulder.

Hurriedly piling into the limo, "Rusutsu ski resort!" I announced, for it was indeed where we did plan to go.

"Kaito chibi!" I said catching my vocaloid off guard. Pouting he said, "Gimme a warning will ya!" Gahh! He was so cute, I thought, as I reached to play with his hair.

Xxx

Reaching the resort, we checked-in to our room, well since this was on our own expense, I booked the suite with Kaito and collected the groups one-day ski pass.

I knocked on Karina's door, and was hit and crushed by Karina in a hug. "Ski ski ski ski~!" she squealed.

"I know!" I squealed back. Jumping up and down with my childhood friend.

"Nicole-sama!"

"Rina!" Our respective vocaloids shouted.

"Oh! Yes…let's go get the ski gear!" I said coming down from my high.

"Girls~" I heard Kaito and Len sigh behind me.

Hearing that Karina and I turned around together, stuck out our tongue and ran for the ski rentals. "Last one there is a chicken~!" Karina called back to both our vocaloids.

"What!" Len exclaimed. I looked back as I was running and apparently Kaito was playing it cool by taking his time.

We were both panting by the time we got there. Well we did run about three stories down and all the way across to the main lobby block.

"You ok?" Yukina asked.

"Yup." I puffed, catching my breath, I filled up the form and passed it to the man at the counter to find the right sizing of skis for me. Trying on the boots and snapped them into the skis then unsnapped them to check if it was working, then it was off to picking the ski jacket and pants.

"Nicole-sama! That one!" Kaito said, pointing to a...as usual...blue one, he had already put on his ski jacket...well not like there was much to choose since Crypton pretty much customized everything for out vocaloids as part of the winter package. Though Miku's was specials she was wearing Barzini's one and only winter coat that he designed for her. I bough a pair of white gloves and goggles and the lot of us were off!

I queued for the ski lift, snapping on my skis, we went of the shortest run first just a get a feel of the snow and the gradients of the slope. The barrier opened as the contactless card beeped, I slid onto the conveyor belt that will take us to the chairs, Kaito was next to me with Karina and Len on my other side. The safety bar came down as we began the slow accent, I lowered my goggles.

"Cold..." I muttered.

"Yea...freezing but check out the view!" Karina quipped.

Looking around, it was a winter wonderland, well, we were from a tropical island with only two types of weather, sunny or rainy so, sure, I've been skiing before but the rarity of the opportunity doing it with friends was just amazing. The trees with their snow weighted branches, looking down a frozen creek and the view of the ski mountains covered in white and of course the multicolored people we would soon be joining.

"Nicole-sama!" Kaito waved his hand in front of me.

"Huh..." I said back blankly, snapping out of it.

"We're reaching!" he pointed to the shelter we were descending to.

"Safety bar wo akete! (Open the safely bar!)" the man from below called up to us. Swinging our legs to the side, I lifted up the bar. We quickly walked away from the exit of the ski lift and stopped just a little way before the start of the run.

Then something cold hit me right in the back of my neck.

"Cold!" I squealed before, stepping out of my skis, bending down and scooping up a snowball myself and throwing it at Amy. Hey! We were kids! It was an all out snowball fight, as the whole group arrived till Allen who was the last to arrive, in an effort to get away from the raging battle he shuffled too close to the ski slope and started sliding down.

"Guys! A little help here!" he called, as he shot down the slope, come to think of it, it was the first time hearing Allen shout.

"Break!" I shouted back urgently.

"I don't know how to do that!" he called back, arms failing about, as people jumped out of his way.

"What!" I hurriedly snapped on my skis, but Barzini beat me to it.

"Make a 'A' with your skis!" he shouted, as he skied down.

"AHH! I don't know!" Allen exclaimed as he finally lost his balance and sat down on the ice, I let out a sigh of relief. As Barzini was helping him snap off his skis, I turned to the rest of the group, as Miku and Haku skied down to where Barzini and Allen were.

"So...who can't ski..." I asked. Amy, Michelle and Yukina shyly raised their hands. I sighed to myself, honestly it was so dangerous to be on the slopes without at least some basic ski knowledge.

"Ok, " I started, then I spotted Luka's hand in the back.

"Mai doesn't know either..." she prodded him forward.

"I know! I've..." he protested.

"You've played it on your PSP..." Luka dryly ended for him.

I nodded, " Ok...so that means there's six of us that can ski...so let's pair up first..." I glanced back and saw that Barzini was teaching Allen already.

In the end, Michelle paired with me, Yukina with Karina, Amy with Hannah, and that left Zhengyi and Amoz with Mai. As for the vocaloids just in case you were wondering they did come from Sapporo so they all knew how to ski already.

I walked to a flat place with Kaito, Michelle and SeeU. Standing next to her I said, "Strap the ski poles to your hands first so you don't lose them." Then I snapped on my skis and showed her a basic forward movement. The good thing in skiing is that everything is forward not like snowboarding which is a whole different thing.

"So basically an '11' shape is to move forward and 'A' is to slow down or stop," I told Michelle and demoed at the same time.

At the side I heard SeeU telling Kaito, while both of them were peering at the ice, "...and so if you drill a hole...you can go fishing! Then we can catch salmon! And also some tuna for Luka! Nyan!"

"We can really do that!" Kaito asked, his childish curiosity peaked.

"You don't think they are gonna do that right?" Michelle tapped me on the shoulder and said.

Knowing them they probably would, I said to myself.

"Uh...I have no idea...I don't even think you can drill a hole to the sea from here anyway, we are on a mountain you know..." I told Michelle. She looked really concerned, kinda reminded me if a very moe look from a certain anime chara.

"Anyway, try move forward...the faster you learn the faster we can get down the mountain the. We don't have to worry about them and fishing." I said to her. She nodded. She had no problems about the moving forward part but the trouble was about the stopping especially on the slopes. I didn't really know how to explain it properly.

"Michelle-sama," Kaito started, " try think of it like you're making a small ledge of snow at the side of your skis when you break." Then he demoed pushing forward with his poles and making an 'A' formation while pushing out forcefully. Then he stepped out from the position he was in.

"See the small ledges of snow...they stop you on either side when you break..." he explained to Michelle. She tried a few more times with Kaito instructing before finally succeeding. I guess Kaito was the better teacher after all.

"Expert!" I nudged Kaito with my shoulder.

"Of course!" he winked at me.

"What is this! The first ego moment!" I gasped in mock shock.

"Nicole!" Kaito said before starting to chase me. I turned to run, but instead crashed into or through SeeU and bumped into Michelle who was on skis who lost her balance as we crashed into a heap.

"Haha!" Kaito laughter at our tangled mess, "Nicole-sama...gomen...too funny..." he said between gasps of breaths.

"You laugh! Hmph!" I pouted, helping Michelle up as SeeU dusted herself off.

"Let's go!" I stepped sharply into my skis and pushed off without waiting for Kaito and slowing just enough so that Michelle could keep up.

"Now...I'm gonna teach you how to turn, we're going to move in a 'S' formation. Just lean your weight to one direction when you want to turn!" Michelle was doing well, we skied past the rest till we came to Barzini and Allen.

"Barzini! Race you to the bottom! " I shouted. Repositioning my skis to go a little faster, "ok back there?" I called to Michelle.

"Yep! This is fun!" she said keeping her ski poles close to her as I told her to. SeeU and Kaito were moving in fast behind.

"Ooo...race! Come on Barzini! " Miku called.

"Miku you go first. I'll come with Allen..." I heard Barzini say.

"Eh! Okay!" and so the turquoise haired vocaloid ended up racing me. And being the one born here, she obviously won me. Michelle came in close behind with Kaito, SeeU and the rest with their partners and lastly Barzini and Allen.

"Barzini! Slow!" Miku pouted and said in her high voice.

"Haven't you heard...slow and steady wins the race!" he said back to her, adopting in a wise tone.

Rubbing her hands together Karina said, "Well...well have a race later to settle that. For now how about another trial run...without running off without your partner!" she narrowed her eyes at me.

We practiced one more run on the easy before deciding to take a longer run for the official race.

We lined up as best as we could, "Okay! Ready!" I turned to the others who nodded back.

"Three...two...one...GO!" Amy shouted. I dug my poles into the snow and pushed. Kaito followed behind with Michelle by my side and SeeU skiing next to Luka.

In front, "Whee~!" Miku squealed. Next to her was Rin and Len.

Xxx

"First!" Len raised his ski pole and said. "Len! Move!" Rin shouted, but since he didn't have time to move, they ended up crashing in a heap.

"Len! Baka!" Rin said.

"Omae koso (you too) Baka!" Len retorted back.

"Third! I wanna be first!" Miku pouted.

"Fourth!" I pronounced myself.

"Fifth! Skiing makes me hungry..." Kaito said to me.

Miku turned around and saw Barzini and yelled out, " Barzini osoi! (slow!)"

The rest came in this order, Amoz (beating Barzini by a slim margin), Barzini, SeeU, Luka, Michelle, Meiko, Hannah, Piko, Haku, Yukina, Neru, Zhengyi, Allen, Aki, Amy, Mai and Karina who volunteered to be the last to make sure everyone made it down the mountain. Because of the race and the weather, our stomachs eventually led us to the restaurant for a let lunch.

Xxx

I pounded my back with my fists, skiing always gave me a backache. I flopped face first on the bed burring my head in the pillows.

"Nicole-sama, daijoubu?" Kaito asked me, flopping next to me on the bed.

I nodded into the pile of pillows, "Mhm...this always happens after a ski." I explained.

There was a knock on the door as Kaito went to open it and nearly crashed opened, "Again! Again! Again!" Amy charged in and chanted.

"Again? As in ski again?" I said, incredulously, this girl had amazing amount of energy.

Kaito shook his head, I looked from him to Amy and sighed, "...maybe later..."

Her crestfallen expression, almost made me change my mind, when she said, "Okey! See ya then!" she bounced out of my room.

"Take a walk?" I asked. Kaito nodded. Slipping my feet into my boots we stepped out and walked towards the main lobby.

We hummed our latest song in a duet walking along the shops.

"Cakes!" I stepped towards the display, in Japan everything was so pretty you just wanna either hug it or preserve it or something. Should I get the purple one? Or the pink one? I thought to myself.

"Nicole-sama! Let's go for this tomorrow!" my vocaloid said to me, trying not to sound so excited.

"Hmm..." I turned to look at where he was pointing, though I was still thinking which cake to buy and probably not eat and just admire.

_Ice cream making and baking class...10 per class...time...morning 9am-10:30am..._

I nodded in approval, " Sounds good! Where to sign up?" I wondered out loud.

"Asoko no couple...aisu kurimu tsukuru course sanka suru ka? (that couple over there...would you like to join the ice cream making class?)" a lady from the dessert store bowed and asked.

"Hai! Koko de sign suru ka?"(Yup! Is this where you sign up?) Kaito asked back. He didn't deny the couple part I noticed.

"Hai...sou desu..." the lady replied, taking out the sign up sheet.

Filling up the form, we committed the morning, it was a good timing too as we had to check out by 12pm latest.

Pushing open the glass door, we were met with icy wind.

"Uwa! Cold!" I exclaimed. Then waling a bit I lay down in the snow and waved my hands up and down. "Snow angel?" Kaito cocked his head to the side and asked.

"What! My childhood okay!" I gathered up some snow at the side and threw it at him.

"Heh~" he caught the snowball and started molding the snow into a huge ball. Propping myself up on my shoulder, I tilted my head in the same manner and said, "Snowman?" His response was sticking out his tongue at me.

Meh! "I'll be right back!" I said running off to the ski lodge.

Entering I said, "Sumimasen…sekitan arimasuka?" (excuse me is there any coal?) I asked a lady.

"Asoko dayou!" (its over there) she said back to me, pointing me in the direction. Pulling off my gloves I grabbed a handful, and ran back out the door much to the bewilderment of some of them.

Kaito was already shaping the head of the snowman. "Nicole-sama!" he waved, before placing the head on.

Taking out my phone, I vocalized the coal that I took and watched him push in the coals for the eyes and the mouth, Kaito then picked up two twigs and stuck it in the snowman's head.

"What is that?" I laughed.

"What! That's my childhood for you!" he playfully said.

Leaning against the tree, Kaito and I watched the sun set.

"Hey…" I murmured, "…just wondering but what was your childhood?" I asked my companion.

"Oh!" he started, "…my childhood was wonderful…so wonderful that I don't have any memories of it…" then in a quiet voice, "…I never had a childhood, Nicole…none of us do…" he ended sadly referring to the other vocaloids as well, his gazing meeting the horizon.

"Then…" I asked, not completing the question.

"Songs…books…the internet…I make their stories mine…" he said quietly, not meeting my eye.

"I see…" I said leaning my head back on the tree, comforting him by placing my hand on his or was it comforting me? I couldn't imagine a life without a past, without anything to remember of, or to shape who we were today. It was painful to think that my best friend never had this chance. Kaito seemed to notice the change in my mood and turned to hug me. It was one of those times where I sincerely wished he was real, with all my heart, and for a split second it really did seem to come true. If only…if only fantasy can become reality.

Then I opened my mouth and said, "I…"

"You know…" Kaito said at the same time, his chin resting on my shoulder.

"You go first…" I told him, pulling away from the embrace.

He took a breath and started, "You know, even though I didn't have a childhood or will ever have memories as a child, I wouldn't mind. Cause if I weren't me then meeting Nicole-sama eating aisu with a bubble skirt in that interview room wouldn't have been possible…" he ended awkwardly, recounting that first time he popped out of that computer screen. "Your turn," he said.

"Well…I could tell you some of my childhood stories if you'd like…" I said, looking up as snowflakes started to fall gently.

"That would be nice…" he looked up too.

"Over dinner?" I suggested.

"Sounds good to me…"

Xxx

"That's where you were!" someone squealed in my ear as Kaito and I exited the restaurant. I turned to find Miku and Barzini together with Amy and Aki.

"Night! Ski!" Aki said, while Amy threw me my ski gear and Miku dropped Kaito's skis on the ground while telling Barzini that it was heavy.

Ten minutes later and we were up on the ski slope again, the ski course was now lit with flood lights, temperatures dropped several fold and what where we doing? We were three quarters up a mountain and attempting to ski down.

"Where did the rest go?" I asked.

"I think the guys went for the indoor wave pool and the girls went for the onsen…" Barzini said, "Anyway never mind them, check out the view! The city lights are awesome!" All around us the buildings looked so tiny and the trees with the moonlight reflecting off its snow covered branches was nothing short awesome.

"Ready!" Aki quipped form the side, getting our attention once more, turning to each other we nodded and pushed off. I kept pace with Kaito as we hurtled down the ski slopes, moving swiftly…with quick efficient movements.

"Come on Barzini!" Miku called, her hair whipping back in the wind.

"You're on!" Barzini said fully straightening his skis and shooting past us. Amy and Aki were on some sort of kamikaze sort of spin to their skiing charged down, all of us were pushing the limits to get down as fast as we could.

Finally coming to a stop at the bottom, we decided on two more, shorter runs before snapping off our skis and throwing ourselves down on the snow.

"I'm wiped…" I panted out, I was going to regret this tomorrow with more backaches.

Amy rolled over and rested her chin on her hands, "Let's call it night people!"

"Yea…" Barzini sighed.

"Aisu for supper?" Kaito asked.

"Tomorrow…" I said.

"Leeks for supper?" Miku asked Barzini hopefully.

"Tomorrow…" he said.

"O…kay…you better buy me twice the amount of leek you normally give me Barzini!" Miku exclaimed to the stars.

Xxx

Finally! Bed! I dragged myself under the sheets, switching off the lights.

"Ne…Nicole-sama?" Kaito said.

"Mhm…" I mumbled staring up at the ceiling.

"Do you ever think that you should have gotten some other vocaloid instead of me?" he questioned.

"No…of course not." The I continued, "everyone is unique and special, and also that important something that make you you…so how could I even think that."

"Thanks, Nicole-sama," Kaito said softly.

"Then …oyasumi ne…don't think too much about things like that…" I gently advised.

"Un…oyasumi…"

Xxx

And so the next morning…with a backache…wearing a frilly apron….

"Now mix everything together in a bowl," our instructor said to our class of 10. We were using special milk from the Sapporo region. I looked around the room once more…all couples…I swear I should have suspected the moment the lady at the sign up counter said couple the other day. But! I got to see Kaito in a frilly blue apron and that…was an interesting sight.

"Now, lets add in the flavor of the ice cream…" came the instruction.

"Nicole-sama! What flavor?" Kaito asked, mixing his ingredients.

"Choco!" I said.

"Vanilla!" he said.

Then I heard a squeal from behind. Turning I saw the guy feeding his girlfriend the ice cream mix. Stuck in the middle of love birds…

"Ugokanai yo!" (don't move) the girl across the room said, trying to wipe off some sugar from the guys face. Apparently Kaito noticed too and was looking down at his mixture and furiously mixing it with his whisk.

"Eto…Kaito-san!" our instructor called from the front, "sonna koto mazeru dame desu yo!" (you can't mix it like that!)

I went over and said, "Just gently mix it so the mixture doesn't separate." I demonstrated and Kaito leaned in and whispered, "Nicole-sama is a good instructor." I felt my face heat up.

"Well…um…thanks…" I mumbled.

"Now, place the mixture in the tub!" our instructor said.

Then we placed the tubs in the fridge, though honestly we could have just buried it in the snow.

"Hai! Waffle wo tsukurimashou!"(Let's make waffles now!) our baking teacher said excitedly.

Pulling out the waffle machine from the drawer, I plugged it into the socket. Then following the recipe with ease I quickly whipped up a batter. I open the waffle grill and turned to get my mixture when my hand accidentally brushed against the hot grill.

"Ow…ow…" I said softly turning on the tap and running my hand in the cool water.

"Nicole-sama!" Daijoubu!" Kaito said, picking up my hands and blowing on them.

"Yep…I'm good no worries…" I said to him, "Don't look so worried!" I nudged him and continued picking up my mixture and poured some of it in the grill and closing the lid.

Ten minutes later…when class ended and couples were just hanging around trying out their creations.

I was scooping our ice cream out with waffles on our plate and even strawberries to go along with it.

I stuck the spoon into my mouth, sighing as I tasted the aisu, sure it wasn't the best aisu I've tasted but it was definitely good.

I peered into the tub, "Save some for the rest?" I asked Kaito.

He nodded wordlessly, taking a knife and spreading the aisu like it was butter on his waffle. Ah well…not going to get an answer from him anytime soon.

Xxx

Pulling down our luggage the lot of us checked out as a group and waited for the limo to pick us up, while I passed the tub of aisu around. Katio looked proud sharing his tub of aisu.

"Nicole made this?" Yukina asked, taking a scoop.

"Yep…" I replied.

"It's nice!" she complemented, "could do with some pocky maybe…"

"Yea…it'd be nicer!" I agreed.

"You hurt yourself..." Karina said with concern looking at the bandages on my fingers.

"Nah...it's nothing," then leaning in I said softly, "try not to make a big deal out of it okay..." I said glancing at Kaito.

Understanding, she nodded.

By the time we got back to the hotel, the two tubs of aisu, one for humans and one for vocaloids were all polished.

Returning to our rooms. I pulled out my futon and sunk into the softness of it. The tiredness of all the days came crashing down on me.

"I'm gonna take a nap…" I said to Kaito.

"Eh~lunch?" he questioned.

I waved him off, "later…we can even try out that new ice cream maker later…take a walk in the park…you get your own lunch kay…"

"Okay!" he said happily, "I'll get some sushi…so that when you wake up…"

I didn't hear the rest as I buried my head in the pillows, ah this is good, soft…and Kaito was happy…its nice to make people happy I thought as I drifted off to sleep and felt someone place the covers over my shoulders.

"Arigatou…Kaito…" I murmured.

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>And…it's over…sigh…I'm so sorry it's short and it took so long… again…gomen *bows*…thanks for sticking by…life has been trashy(read tiring and unforgiving)…my mid years are about a week from now…I'm hitting the books right after this…Barzini has finally started school…he's really hardworking…gambatte to him…I think he'll do just fine…well…sorry once again…also sorry if any Japanese phrasing is wrong…I may not be experienced enough to know all the formalities and phrasings…Arigatou for reading this far…<strong>

**-gives truckloads of meronpan, aisu and waffles- Kaito says Arigatou too…well then mata ne:3  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Hello all! Barzini here! School has started for me, and I took a short break from doing my notes to upload this. I promise you the chapter, but I know not when I will actually finish because academics are my priority now! Maybe two weeks? :)<strong>

**Have a great Sunday!**


	15. Chapter 15

"Barzini-sama! Wakey upey!" I can hear Miku said, and I twitched my fingers feebly. I wasn't about to crawl out of bed as I was extremely sleep deprived. I mean... This is a holiday! I am entitled to some sleep!

"I know I promised but..." I moaned and buried my face deeper into the pillow, and after a few moments of silence, I suddenly heard Miku squeal-

"Emma Watson! It's Emma Watson, Barzini-sama!" She squealed, and adrenaline seemed to rush through me, and I sprinted to the window and looked down at where she was pointing.

"Where, where!" I said, my face pressed against the window as I stared down at the street full of umbrellas . Apparently, rain has decided to fall in this cold weather.

"Don't have!" I said indignantly and turned to look at Miku who was smiling.

"Shall we go? Barzini-sama!" She said, smiling, and after a while, I burst into laughter, wagging my finger at her.

"Not bad! Not bad Miku! Not bad!" I said, nodding my head, smiling.

"Give me a minute. I'll be out soon!"

Xxx

"Barzini-sama! Let Miku Miku give you the grand tour! First! Taxi!" She suddenly rushed to the side of the pavement and stopped a taxi by jumping right in front of it with her arms wide open, causing everyone around me except myself to scream.

"Chotto-matte!" She said, pointing at the taxi driver, who gulped and I bowed apologetically at the passer-bys, and the second I got into the cab, closing the side door, I bowed forward again.

"Sorry! So! So! Sorry!" I bowed, and the taxi waved me off, and said in a rather accented sentence, "Where to?"

"Shiroi Kobito park please!" I said, and the driver nodded, casting one last scathing look at Miku who pouted and sat back, fiddling with her vocaloid iPhone, and I collapsed back into my seat, the adrenaline having exhausted itself, slipping me back into that carousel of agony.

"I want… Sleep…" I groaned and Miku sighed dramatically.

"Useless, useless Barzini!" She said, and I shook my head in exasperation, wanting to just fall asleep, which I actually did, I dozed off, dreaming about that favourite movie star of mine, and our little walk along the French Riviera.

Xxx

"963 yen." I heard the taxi driver said, and I stirred from my sleep, groggily taking out my wallet, and taking the decency to dig through change to pay him an exact value, though the tone he took with me was not something I want to remember of perfect Japan.

Shiroi Kobito seemed like a typical "park-like" setting, add in a Café or so, with those sheltered chairs with umbrellas? Well, Shiroi Kobito was unique because-

It was Japanese. Wait what? That wasn't a reason? Fine.

It was near a chocolate factory!

See what I mean now? The place simply smells of chocolate! And more importantly, you can get a tour of the factory and make your own unique chocolate! How cool is that! Still not good enough? Go make your own reason!

"The smell is amazing." I commented as I sniffed the air, with the smell of chocolate getting stronger and stronger with each step I took, even overpowering the smell of coffee in a nearby Café.

"Barzini-sama! Hungry~!" Miku said, patting her stomach, and I just noticed that Miku was wearing a slight turquoise fluff jacket, and her cheeks were slightly red, giving her the faint look of a freezing vocaloid.

"Me too! Choco!" I said, not sounding exactly excited as I tend to not show a lot of my emotions other than being happy.

"Barzini-sama! What do you want to make your choco look like?" Miku said, jumping in front of me then walking backwards casually with her hands to her back.

"Emma Watson! Alright let's be more realistic. I want it to look like... Like... Something me... I don't know..." I said, giving this matter some serious thought.

"Negi! Miku want big big negi!" She said, gesturing with her hand to show the leek in which she would build to such monstrous proportion.

"I get your point. I get your point!" I laughed, and gestured for her to turn around and start walking properly.

Xxx

As we paid to enter the factory, you can already smell the aroma of the chocolate, the kind of smell that drives your stomach growling, but yet turns you off at the same time.

"Choco! Rabbu!" Miku said, and I just walked along the corridor where there were plaques and a large glass panel for you to see the workers at work and of course, the plaque provides detailed explanations for their work.

"I'm impressed!" I commented casually, my voice resonating down the corridor, and Miku picking up on that, instantly started saying-

"Echo~!"

Xxx

"You want to make it yourself. Or you want to leave your design and order? And pick it up later." A Japanese man dressed in complete white asked me, and I looked at Miku.

"We cater to Vocaloids as well." The man nodded, and Miku smiled widely.

"Negi! Negi shape!" Miku said, and the man nodded and turned to me with a rather bored face.

"I'll draw it for you…" I said, and the man's eyes widened. What was I going to draw?

As my pencil flew around the piece of paper, Miku face palmed and the man's eyes widened greatly. I actually drew the design of a British Churchill tank, and when I passed the paper back to the man, he was scratching his head.

"How many of each?" He asked, staring at the tank I just drew.

"Five of each please!" I said, and the man raised an eyebrow.

"Do you think you can even pay for it?" He asked, and I looked back at him, nodding and smiling.

"12800 yen." He said, and I paid him in exact change, though I have to admit that I better be running along to withdraw money after this.

"Hmph. Come back in three hours. Thank you for the business." He said, his voice ending with a more polite and respectful note to the end, and bowing, in which we followed the same.

As soon as the man left, Miku pouted and turned to look at me.

"Why did you not want to make it yourself, Barzini-sama! Why! Why!" She whined, stomping her feet and I rubbed my forehead.

"Imagine we did and we failed. Then obviously I would have to order it again... Then we'd be wasting time and energy... In which I have little of both..." I said while leading Miku out, and she was positively denying everything I said by shaking her head at every word I was saying.

"Argh! Whatever!" I exclaimed, and sat outside at the benches for a short moment before Miku looked at me, as if trying to say something.

"Barzini-sama! Miku wants to go to her home!" Miku suddenly said, a weird dream look in her eyes and I cocked my head.

"Crypton?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"According to Miku's database, Mount Moiwa!" She said, and I frowned.

"You have a mother?" I asked, and she pouted.

"Hidoi, Barzini-sama! I am a vocaloid! I have no parents! But since it is in my database, I want to see it!" She said, her hands on her hips.

"Okay then!" I said, naturally understanding her curiosity surrounding her birthplace, so I stood up, stared at my wallet, which was barely enough for two extremely long cab rides.

"Mount Moiwa it is then!" I said enthusiastically, though painfully aware of the increasingly lighter wallet.

"Yay! Moiwa! Moiwa!" Miku did a little jig while chanting its name.

Xxx

It turned out that we didn't exactly need to take a cab... All we had to do was take the Street car to Ropeway Iriguchi, and from there, a free shuttle bus service was available, which took about five minutes to reach there. All these for just 170 yen, which means that we PROBABLY can have a meal there at Mount Moiwa's many restaurants.

Moiwa was nothing less than breathtaking. It rose to a great height clearly, because there was another cable car service which was free, that ferried us to the summit. By then, it was only an hour since we left the chocolate museum. I simply love how efficient the transport system is.

Miku was awfully quiet in the cable car ride, just staring out of the glass absent-mindedly, and it was unusual for her to give one worded answers to the questions you ask her.

As soon as the cable car door opened, a gush of cool air rushed into my face, and Miku looked around for a while, before she started running through the snow, leaving me behind.

"C-Chotto! Miku! Wait!" I cried out, struggling to place foot after foot as they sank deep into the snow.

"Bloody snow..." I mumbled as I struggled forward through the snow, and as a Vocaloid, it didn't affect Miku at all as she can simply run THROUGH them. The fact that my bag carried a DSLR, memory sticks, a laptop, some food and drinks did not really help.

By the time I reached Miku, she was hammering at the snow, as if trying to dig it up.

"Barzini-sama! You try! You try!" She pouted, her hands going through the snow as she tried to claw it up.

"Why?" I asked, and she glared at me.

"Just do it! Please!" She said, a slight tone of both exasperation and desperation.

Placing down my bag, I started digging through the snow with my hands, and my hand gradually got colder and colder as the gloves and skin struggled to keep my hands warm.

After what seemed like ten minutes (according to my watch, thought I was going to say eternity weren't you?), I felt something solid hit my hand and I cried out in pain.

"Barzini-sama! Get help! Get help! What is this! Miku want know!" She said, staring at what appeared to be part of ice.

"But... Fine..." I said, rubbing my hands together and going off to the place where I got off. I gestured frantically at a few Western tourists.

"Sirs and ladies! Can you please help me dig something up? I think I found something!" I said, jumping up and down, waving frantically and praying that the expression on my face was more desperation than constipation.

"Calm down, old boy! Tell me-" One of them started, and I just ran, ran away from them and towards Miku's area instead, hoping that they would follow me, which they did after some amount of shouting.

I got down and started digging through the softer parts with my hands again, and when they caught up, they mimicked my action and clawed through the snow, about four of them, two males and two females, and slowly but surely, what we thought was ice was actually a frozen steel rod of-

A supporting structure.

As we dug through the snow, one of the walnut colour haired companions suddenly sunk through it, bringing down a whole chunk of snow while we cried out in surprise.

"Lindsey! Are you bloody alright!" One of the males cried out and when there was no reply, all of us outside including Miku stared at each other before we pounced against the snow surface and dug with renewed aggression, the trio who are helping me probably because they are worried about their companion, and me simply because I dragged them into this mess in the first place.

Then, to our surprise, the wall of snow caved in, revealing a cavern of some sort, with its exterior supported by poles and wires of steel, and their female companion, Lindsey, was apparently inside standing there perfectly fine.

"Guys! Check this out! That is totally cool!" Lindsey said, looking about, and another girl ran up to her and hugged her.

"Emma! We were so worried!" The brunette said, hugging her.

"Lindsey!" The walnut-haired girl coughed loudly, along with the boys who suddenly turned to stare at me, and the other girl froze before nodding.

"What?" I cried out defensively and they all shrugged and shook their heads.

"This is so cool!" Lindsey stated again, pulling her hood over her and taking off her sunglasses while pulling her scarf higher so that it covered half her face.

"It is... Miku! Where are we?" I called out to her and she walked in, and the Western tourists gasped.

"Is she real?" One of the guys asked, and the other shrugged while the girls stared at her as she went in deeper into the cavern and I followed her, and after a slight moment of hesitation, the tourists followed.

In the cavern were basic simple furniture, toys, yet there was one room where there were computers of the kind that I have yet seen before.

"This is... Like some sort of mystery movie..." The brunette said, and Lindsey nodded, picking up the toys.

"There's little dust here. I think the snow blocked it out well." One of the guys picked up a soft toy and another, and looked at his white gloves which were stained little with dust.

Miku however, was standing in a room where there was a decent sized bed, and a room fit for a princess. A landscape painting of Sapporo hung on the wall, and around it were wardrobes and cabinets.

"Miku?" I said, and when she did not respond, I opened the wardrobes and cabinets, but it was empty, if there was something there in the first place anyway.

"The computer won't turn on." One of the guys called out from another room, and I perked up, and exited.

"Hey guys and girls. What's your name? I'm Barzini." I said, shaking their hands.

"I'm Troy, this is Howard, Lindsey and Amandah!" The burliest of the four said, gesturing respectively and I bowed a little.

"Let me take a look at the computer please." I said, and as I moved to shift the CPU, I felt that it was too light. The CPU had been hollowed out as well, neatly too.

Taking out my camera, I went to the first room, where it seemed to be a crude kitchen, the other three being a computer room, a bedroom and a play room. I took photos of almost every angle of the room with flash, so as to emulate the dark room.

As us humans met in the play room to discuss the curious building here, Amandah turned to ask me-

"Excuse me, Barzini was it? What or who was that? The green haired girl?" She asked, and I took a deep breath.

"Her name is Hatsune Miku. Cut the long story short, she is just a singing voice synthesizer with good looks and moves, and I am part of a school by Crypton, their creators, who are experimenting giving these out to students. Basically machine brought to life by cutting edge technology." I said, and they all nodded, slightly impressed. Just when I was about to explain further, an ear-splitting scream rang through the cave, and I covered my ears and was thrown off balance for a moment, before rushing into the room where Miku was, laying unconscious.

"Call the paramedics!" Howard cried out, and I shook my head, taking out my iPhone and calling Crypton Future Media.

"This is Crypton Future Media. How may I assist you?" A feminine voice came over from the other side and I gave a sigh of relief.

"I am Barzini. Miku has fainted. We are both at Mount Moiwa. Please send help. I can't carry a hologram unless their active programming is working." I said, and there was a moment of silence.

"Which part of Mount Moiwa are you at?" A different voice came through, calm and deep, and I raised my eyebrow.

"The cave. There's this cave we dug. It's uhm..." I covered the phone and turned to the tourists.

"What direction from the cable cars?"

"Uhh... Due East I guess..." Troy said, and I nodded.

"Due east from the cable cars!" I breathed, and there was some form of static before the female voice came back on.

"We will be there with help in twenty minutes. Hang tight and please, no photographs." She said, before dutifully hanging up without a goodbye.

"No photographs?" I said indignantly at the phone, before I looked at the DSLR in my hand, and turned to look at the tourists.

Hurriedly, I swung my DSLR from my neck and stuffed it into my bag and gave it to Troy.

"Troy? Which hotel are you checking in with?" I asked, trying to not panic and scream, _Miku, what did you get me into!_

"Mount Moiwa Ski Resort." He said, and I nodded.

"I'll find you there later. All four of you. Go now." I said, and ushered them out, and they ran, with me covering whatever tracks I could reach around the cave, so that it looked that only a set of footprint was there.

As I waited and stared at Miku, I could hear the distant whirring of a helicopter, and as it got closer, it was clearly a Crypton one, as Miku's negi was comically painted at the side of the chopper.

I got out and started waving at them, and the helicopter came towards me, before hanging off by the side of the mountain and a man jumped off, and started trudging towards me.

"Hey! Where's Miku!" He cried out, and I pointed to the inside of the cave.

"Okay!" He gave a thumbs up and I watched as he made his way through the snow towards me.

"You dug all the way in by yourself?" He asked, panting and I nodded.

He went into the cave and laid his laptop onto the floor, and as it started up, he gave me a sidelong glance.

"Found anything interesting around here?" He asked casually, not lloking at me now, and I shook my head.

"I'm not Sherlock... And Miku fainted pretty fast..." I said, and he nodded.

"Who did you come up here with?" He asked, and I pointed at Miku on the floor.

As the computer booted up, he placed a scanner near Miku's arm where he scanned the 01, and Miku's body gave a faint glow.

"Oh well... No camera all the way up here?" He asked, and I froze.

"Aww nah! I left it at the hotel..." I said, and he nodded.

After a while, the glow stopped, and Miku woke up, her eyes open, but her eyes dreamy.

The man stood up and looked at me.

"I hope you're telling the truth. And if you're not, if I were you, I would forget this place." He said, giving me a pat on the shoulder and I nodded.

"I know when to keep my mouth shut." I said, and he laughed.

"Miku will automatically walk to the cable car station before her active programming starts okay?" He smiled and I nodded, and followed Miku who was walking out. As I turned around after a while, I could see him working with a shovel in his hand, and I shuddered.

I hope my tourist friends are okay...

Xxx

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><p><strong>Hey all! A big shoutout to you guys! We're alive but just busy with school! Next chapter may take sometime to be up! Please be patient all! <strong>

**And I apologise to you guys for the long wait! No one told me school + Taekwando would be so busy! Bye! Have a lovely day!**

**Barzini**


	16. Chapter 16

I pressed the reclining button on the armrest, with a soft whirling sound the back of the seat went down slowly, then I pressed the massage button. Shiatsu massage, the works, the machine kneading out my tightened muscles, I still hadn't recovered from my reckless skiing trip despite it being two days, I peeked out the small window, poofy white clouds. Yep, we were on the plane, homebound, I closed my eyes.

The last two days were spent on shopping, getting a new awesome Japanese hair do, buying some local products for the folks back home, and for me, buying as much manga as I could., after all the good thing about private jets is that the weight limit was not that strict.

"Is that supposed to be nice?" a synthetic voice sounded in my ear. Opening one eye, I glanced at my vocaloid he had a skeptical look on his face, probably thinking how this thing that was not sweet or cold in any way was supposed to be nice, "Mhm…you have no idea…" I said back in contentment.

"I wonder where Barzini-sama went to…" Kaito wondered out loud, placing his elbows on the divider between our seats.

"No idea according to him though he said he'll be back just two days later than us…and if Crypton allowed it then…" I shrugged, so long as I knew my friend was not in trouble, he can take care of himself.

"I just worried for Miku too…" he said, then as if he was gonna say something next he abruptly stopped.

"You okay?" I asked, concerned.

His emotions warred on his face for a couple of seconds before conceding and said haltingly, "You see…well…Miku suddenly went offline yesterday…"

"And so?" I asked pointedly, sipping my drink, I mean people can't be online all the time on facebook, though Miku probably could but that's beside the point.

"We can never be offline…" Kaito said back flatly, without even looking at my reaction he continued in a whisper, "…all the vocaloids felt Miku's existence go blink for a few minutes…"

"Huhh…" I said, not really knowing what to make of this.

Running his fingers though his hair he said, "We can sense each other, so we know roughly where everyone else is…but when Miku went off…it wasn't an offline off…it was like someone pressed the restart button and she shut down for a few moments… almost like a re-install…" he said in a pained whisper.

Turning the piece of information in my head, I reasoned, there was no way that Barzini would have read the uninstall code to Miku, and not to mention we didn't have a re-install code, so I asked the next logical question, "So how come the others don't seem to know about this?" I looked around and watched the others play the in-flight games or read a book. Their vocaloids, besides Meiko who was out cold as usual, were sitting in a circle playing a rhythm game.

Not meeting my eye he said, "The others don't know, because, Crypton told us not to tell…"

"And?" I questioned.

"I keep no secrets from Nicole-sama…" he replied.

The problem was that, we were already halfway across the ocean to Singapore, and there was no way I could turn this plane around and demand to know what happened, I'll have to ask Barzini about this when he comes back, I mentally placed this on my check list.

"There's nothing we can do about it now…" I said slowly, "but I know Barzini will fight tooth and nail if anything serious happens to Miku…perhaps it's just a small glitch…" I ended in poor consolation.

"I just hope that it wasn't anything of importance…" he frowned as if remembering something bad.

I sighed, "Don't worry…" then pushing the massage button on his chair, I said, "…enjoy the massage and don't over think it!"

There was nothing we could do about it now, and we both knew it.

Xxx

We reached sunny Singapore around noon, so Kaito and I went for a bowl of Laksa before rushing to the last period of the day, music. Yea, even after a week of running around in Japan, we still had to attend the last lesson of the week just cause we could.

Entering the music hall, Kaito and I took our usual seats in the front as the rest streamed in, it was strange not to see Miku around with her usual chatter.

"You don't think they-" Karina started on my right only to be cut off by SOUL.

"Welcome back!" his voice boomed, "now that everyone is present once again! We can begin our next music assignment! Do well! For the rewards as you know are great, and frankly failure is unacceptable. Moving on, while the first challenge was to stretch you and see your teamwork as well as song skit production ability and all that fancy jazz, for your second assignment!" he paused for emphasis, "it will be as you like to say it…back to basics…the task will be to only compose an original solo song sung by one of the group's vocaloid."

"Will it just be audio!" someone from the crowd shouted.

"Patience!" SOUL said admonishingly, "I was getting to that…it will be presented as a live performance, thus wardrobe, dance choreography and if needed, stage décor will also be part of the requirements…it is due in exactly one week…and the theme will be changed, groupings will be the same as before, that is all…I wish you good luck, may creativity flow, and may the odds ever be in your favour." Then his voice faded away.

I rolled my eyes at the copied tag line from the popular book series.

"So! Eto…what do we do?" Amy quipped from behind my chair.

Turning around, our group formed a rough circle from the two rows that we were sitting in, "How about we use the same split grouping as the last time…but this time those in my group will do melodies and harmonies together with wardrobe, while Barzini's group does lyrics and staging," I suggested.

"What about the dance?" Mai looked up momentarily from his PSP.

I nodded, "yes I think we should settle on the dance together during one of the rehearsals."

Rin raised her hand and said, "I'll ask the burning question then! Who is going to sing!"

"Well…not Piko or Haku…seeing that they already had their lovers debut…" I said playfully.

"We are not going to wait for Barzini and Miku for the decision?" Michelle diplomatically said, twirling a pen about her fingers.

"Good point…eto…Skype them after dinner?" I suggested.

"Okey! Let's meet in Nicole's room at 8pm then!" Amy chirped.

I nodded, "Yep, okay so I'll get them online before we start our cross country meeting."

Luka raised her hand, and I nodded for her to speak.

"Why not we have dinner at your room too…"

"Nyan…so long as you order in something salmon yessu…" SeeU injected from the aisles.

"Tuna…" Luka said back darkly.

Hands on her hips, Hannah said, "Well then that's settled then, maybe we can call in pizza or something…"

"So…we meet earlier at 7?" Karina questioned.

Nodds went around.

"Alrighty seven it is! See you later!" and with our first meeting ending, we dispersed for the afternoon.

Xxx

Turning on the computer, I had about four hours to 7pm; connecting my camera to the laptop I started the file transfer of photos to my hard drive.

Then I dived into my pile of pillows on the bed and turned on the air con. Did I mention it was absolutely sweltering after coming back to tropical Singapore from a winter country?

"Its so hot!" Kaito exclaimed, coming out of the bathroom, toweling his hair.

Flipping around, I mumbled, "I know right…"

"At least there's aisu…" he took out a tub and started eating out of it, sitting on the beanbag I recently bought.

My phone rang, reaching for it on the side table, I swiped the screen, "Nicole!" the other side squealed.

"Ummhm…Toey...wassup?" I managed.

"Well…you know…Mai is back right?" she said in an even higher pitch.

"Uhuh…oh yea for choir," I didn't even finish my sentence when she cut me off and said.

"Can I come over then we can talk about the choir stuff too!"

"Yea…okay…" so she did hear me about the choir part.

"Awesome! Seeya!" she said before clicking off.

"Toey coming?" Kaito questioned, licking his spoon.

I nodded, "yep…perhaps I can laze about for a few…"

And just then the door had to sound, so much for that. Dragging myself out, I opened the door and Toey bounded in.

"Nicole! I brought the new scores!" she waved the file in front of me, on her head, the purple hair vocaloid bowed and said, "Konnichiwa."

Pulling out sheets and sheets of paper, my room was soon flooded with choir scores, homework, notes, and what not. Chibifying Kaito as well, we left the two of them to talk in Kaito's room.

"So…" my hand waving to the mess on the floor.

"Yup! Uhhuh! Okey!" then Toey picked up a choir score. "Well…this is page five…um…"

Sighing, I scoured my floor for the remaining pages.

"You know…you didn't have to dump everything out of the file…" I said gathering the sheets of scores.

"I was excited! Oh! Anyway, you have to do solfedge for that and sight sing it at the next practice, um homework is over there," she pointed at a rough heap, "and notes over there," she pointed at some stapled stacks of paper.

Looking at the pile, I groaned, it was going to take me forever to catch up, and Barzini, he'll probably freak and then work himself to death after knowing how much stuff he has to do too. I can already picture it. The only person not fretting would probably be Mai, and perhaps Karina.

Then rummaging in her bag, she presented me with another pile of paper, "you can copy my notes!"

"Thanks!" I accepted gratefully. Then walking to my luggage, I presented her with her present.

"For you, from Japan!" I said.

"Arigatou!" she smiled, "…so…" lying on my floor, "…how is Mai…"

"Well…he just plays his PSP…wait…I've been meaning to ask you this but you do you and him have…something…"

"Well…we were childhood friends…"

"Ah…I see…" so it wasn't what I thought, I guess, I eyed her wristband.

"Ah…yes…this was on promo when we brought it as kids…" she said, noticing my glance.

"Oh! So like friendship bands!" I said.

"Yup!"

Wow, they kept it for so long I was thinking, then Toey turned to me seriously, "Oh…and I'm the only one who can get him off his PSP…"

"Really!" I said, impressed.

"Yep!" she said happily, almost proud.

"Then you can get him off the PSP so that he can spend more time with Luka!" I exclaimed excitedly, remembering the pact I made with the other girls to get Mai off his PSP.

"Ah…yea…sure," she said.

I nodded, "okey! Next time when we meet up I'll drag Mai along!"

"Okay!"

Then the door to Kaito's room creaked opened, and Kaito plodded out of his room with Gakupo behind. I stared. I mean…WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS HAIR!

Toey beside me had burst into fits of laughter. I realised I said that out loud.

Gakupo had somehow managed to braid Kaito's hair in tuffs, and I didn't know if I should be crying or laughing.

"Nicole-sama…how do I look?" Kaito said anxiously, not knowing what to make out of my expression.

"Mirror…" I managed, controlling myself and giving the command to restore him to his original size.

"OMG…" he messed his hair back to his morning messed up look.

"Now that was a good one!" Gakupo clapped his hands together and said, "he looks good in a hakama though…"

Now that…I had to agree with, the dark colours on Kaito made him look, good. Okay…maybe more than good. And the fact that Gakupo managed to convince Kaito to lose the scarf, had me convinced that both owner and vocaloid had good persuasion skills.

Kaito scowled. I laughed and said, "keep the hakama, it looks good, you might want to reconsider an hair style though, what ever possessed you to do that!"

"He said it'll look good!" Kaito glared at Gakupo.

"Ok…ok…chill…" I said massaging his shoulders, taking care not to sink my fingers into him.

Toey picked up her backpack and said, "I think we should go! Group meeting for the big project you know!"

"Yea..."

"Well! See ya! And Mai! Some time ne!" she bounced out of my room.

When they left, I pulled out my first stack of notes and started copying, Kaito humming a tune next to me.

Xxx

The blue bubble turned in circles, almost hypnotic before abruptly switching to the dashboard page, I checked the time, approximately 30 minutes before the rest came at seven. I was logging in to Skype and hopefully Barzini was online form wherever he was right now, switching my forever away status to available, I clicked on his name and pressed the chat button. 'Poke' I typed into the chat box, hitting enter. I walked away for while to get some pocky and call in delivery for dinner.

Returning I saw Kaito seated in front of the computer, I was using his sleek computer with the better processor to Skype, peering over his shoulder, he was vigorously typing something back on the chat box.

"...I may not be as famous as Miku but you don't have to rub it in Barzini-San!" I silently read to myself. Sighing inwardly, I remembered all those times Barzini loved to get him into trouble, like the time he made Kaito miss the bus, and the time he came over via our hole in floor and left the freezer door open, melting all the aisu in the process.

"But! All you like is your aisu...what else can you do," came Barzini's reply.

"What's wrong with liking aisu! Your Miku only likes LEEK!" Kaito retorted back, his fingers flying across the keyboard, getting increasingly frustrated.

Tapping my vocaloid on his shoulder, taking care not to sink my finger through him, he finally noticed me standing behind him.

"Nicole sama..." he said with a mix of guilt, crashing my conversation with Barzini and frustration. Pulling him by the chair, I dragged him away from the screen, the wheels on the chairs squeaking softly.

"You know you don't have to care about what others think of you...being your ice cream loving self is an important part to being you," I gently said, looking him in the eye, as sat down next to him on another chair.

He looked away, then said shakily in a low monotone, almost like he wasn't there, "you know I already had some sort of consciousness when Crypton first released me for sales..." I nodded, he did tell me that the first Vocaloid series was different from the second series as form Miku onward they were released with full consciousness of their surroundings, but he didn't seem to see as he ploughed on, "...I was the first male vocaloid, I was supposed to have some impact..." his eyes were full of longing, "but instead...nothing happened...I was a failure...Crypton wanted to abandon me..." he shifted in his seat, "...it hurt so much, people didn't enjoy my music as much as I wanted them to, till one day," he took a breath, "my handler bought me some aisu..."

"You had a handler!" I blurted.

He still didn't meet my eye as he smiled wanly at the thought, "well...yea...I had one...so then aisu helped me I guess it was cold and sweet and it made me forget how I ruined and ended the first vocaloid series on and bad note..." then taking a breath he said, "and...so from Miku onward...they tried something different..." he frowned as if trying to remember something, then shook his head, " whatever it was...it obviously worked..."

Was that a hint of bitterness in his tone?

"You know...failures only make you stronger...it makes you who you are," I said comfortingly.

He nodded wordlessly.

Then with my curiously hardly contained, I asked, "you told me you couldn't remember anything before you met me...how is it that..."

"There's something's you just can't forget...perhaps they didn't want me to forget either…" he replied.

That I understood, I was only glad that I was now important enough to him for him to hand me a piece of his past.

What followed that, happened in quick succession, I heard the Skype ringtone sounding from the computer, giving Kaito a quick hug, I walked over and realized that I had missed three calls from Barzini already. Pressing the answer call button, his voice sounded though the system, "Where did you go!" he said, his voice coming off as slightly crackly.

"Oh uh...I had some stuff suddenly," I said lamely, before switching the topic and giving him a run down on our latest music project and the fact that the two sub groups from last time would be the same.

Then a huge bang against the door, made me and Kaito jump. Inching toward the door, I opened it slowly, and found an angry Meiko storm in, "SAKE! ALL YOU CHIBIS WHERE'S MAI SAKEE!" Hannah frantically coming in behind.

"Mai brand of sake doesn't exist," Luka said, with a questioning look on her face, not getting the point at all.

She got back a scathing glare from Meiko.

"Meiko...here..." Piko reached into his bag and produced a sake bottle. I hope he knew where he was going with this, glancing around at how my furniture would hold up if something did happen. Yukina smile reassuringly at me.

Catching my worried look, Kaito whispered, "Piko has it covered with that special brew we had in Sapporo." I nodded back silently in relief.

"Hello!...everything okay back there!" Barzini's voice came over the speaker. Oops I guess I forgot with all the commotion, getting everyone settled in Kaito's room, using the table as a chair and even dragging down the extra pillows from the bed, it ended up looking like a sleepover party to me.

"Yup...we're good," I replied, sitting down next to Kaito on the beanbag.

"Turn on the webcam!" came Miku's excited voice, as her face appeared on my monitor clicking the on webcam button, our group of 20 appeared in a smaller screen at the bottom.

"So we can begin," Barzini said, steeping his finger tips, what did he think he is some army commander!

"Yes sir! We need to decide who is going to represent our group!" Amy quipped, saluting him.

Miku's hand shot up, "Me! Yes! It's my turn!" her voice squealed through the speakers.

"But the theme is change right..." Michelle sounded out, "what would you sing about Miku chan?"

"I'm already perfect! What would I have to change...?" she asked back, slightly offended, somewhat confused.

Everyone thought long and hard before, Zhengyi's hand came up, "you know perhaps Neru should do it?"

"Are you suggesting that I need to change!" Neru said incredulously, her yellow hair flying about as she whipped her head around.

"If there's one that needs to change its this one..." Amoz muttered under his breath, pointing discreetly at Rin.

"My twin is perfectly fine!" Len said in his sister's defense.

"Nyan then who?" SeeU purred from her chair.

"I'll do it," a voice came.

Turning we, stared at Meiko, the second time! The second time she was sober!

"Oh come on! Quit staring!" she said, slightly self conscious perhaps? Even Hannah was surprised. Glancing over at Piko, he looked secretly pleased as he talked to Haku sitting cross legged on Kaito's bed.

"All in favour of Meiko san," Kaito said slowly, raising his hand. I followed his suit, a non drunk Meiko, definitely a change all right, perhaps she will be the one that can interpret the theme.

Coming to a quick agreement, Meiko was going to represent our groups, and with her figure, Karina and I were already thinking about the wardrobe before anything else.

"You'll be back on a Sunday right?" Michelle posed the question to Barzini.

He nodded, "yep, Sunday morning! So maybe a group meeting in the afternoon when I get back."

"Yes, sir." Mai said, looking up briefly from his game.

"I propose our two groups switch roles this time," I raised my hand and said.

"So…we'll do the melody and harmonies of the song as well as wardrobe and props…while Barzini will do the lyrics as well as the stage set up yes?" Karina questioned.

I nodded. "Sounds good," Zhengyi rubbed his hands together.

"Okay, so it's decided then-" I started.

"But what about the dance?" Hannah asked.

All heads turned to Meiko, well she was the oldest vocaloid here, and none of us really knew what to do.

She sighed and said, "I'll come up with something when the music composition is out."

"Great, we're done then!" I said happily, "My group will meet up tomorrow, and first combined rehearsal on Monday?" I addressed Barzini.

"Okey! Booked the music hall and rooms for our use on Monday and tomorrow already!" Aki quipped before I even asked the question.

Just nice, then, someone knocked on the door. Collecting the pile of pizza and drinks and awkwardly paying the delivery man, I could only think of how chaotic and messy the room was going to be and how I was going to clean it all up later.

Already, I saw an orange and banana sailing across the room.

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>*bows* Arigatou for reading again! Short chapter…eto… if the holis aren't filled with project meet ups and mugging and what not…I'll have more time to write, hopefully!:) <strong>

**Gambatte to Barzini for his Mid-sem test (I think that's what you call it)!**

**Mata na minna!**

* * *

><p><strong>Barzini here! Heyyo! Studying for mid sem test so I'll make this short! My chapter is already at a thousand words! When its all over on Friday, I'll be writing non-stop! So look forward to it, y'all! Bye!<strong>


	17. Chapter 17

"Miku!" I kept calling out as I followed Miku who was walking back to the cable car station. Yet, she responded not to my calls, so I merely followed behind her meekly. Upon reaching there, her dreamy eyes refocused again, and she bowed and did a jig.

"Resort! Resort! Skiing! Skiing! Let's go Barzini-sama! Oh and Barzini-sama! Did you know Miku's home was designated here? Of course, I technically don't have a home here! But!" Miku winked and pulled her hood off.

"Uhhh…" I said, and Miku started skipping towards the row of resorts.

"Which one, Barzini-sama! Which one!" She cheered, and I gulped. I clearly needed to head to Mount Moiwa Resort, yet, I was afraid to trigger Miku's old memory, and get into a whole lot of trouble with Crypton, or even lose her.

"Uhh… I'll check up on one. Miku wait here! Looks like a lot of people want to take pictures with you!" I smiled nervously, and Miku looked around. True enough, two teenage girls were there pointing and squealing, and Miku walked over straight away, and after a while, she was already camwho- I mean, taking photos with the girls.

Mount Moiwa Resort. It was right there.

Pushing open the door, Lindsey was there. Along with the rest, seated at the couch and fiddling with the zipper of the bag that I handed them.

"Where's that girl, or robot… Or hologram?" Troy asked, and I gestured for them to hold on as I popped my head back out the door to check if Miku was following.

"Okay. Now I don't have much time. So please listen closely." I pleaded, and putting into use all of my summary skills, I summarized everything that had happened in the cave to the four, who had different expressions on their faces. Lindsey's one was obscured by her scarf, but you can see a fine crease between her eyes, while Amandah's was one of complete shock.

Boys? Oh well… Boys will be boys. They were excited anyway. Yet, thankfully, I might add, they understood the gravity of the situation.

"Please, please! Just pretend it never happened when Miku comes in!" I urged, and they all nodded.

"Dinner's on me." I panted slightly, wiping my forehead with the back of my hand although the temperature was freezing.

"That's a deal!" Howard roared his approval and the girls gave him a disapproving cough and glare.

"It's okay Barzini! Free of charge!" Amandah grinned, and I shook my head.

"A dinner. I'm starving anyway." I gave my stomach a pat and from the edge of the window, I could see a turquoise haired, carefree girl walking towards the resort.

"Get ready! She's coming!" I squealed.

Hastily, all of us rearranged our facial expressions, with the exception of Lindsey, whose face was covered by the slightly grayish scarf.

"Konbanwa minna!" Miku said loudly, entering and going into a bow after I opened the door for her grand entrance.

"Uhhh… Konnichiwa!" Howard said, and the girls exchanged funny glances with their eyes.

"Barzini-sama! Who are these people?" Miku said, eyeing the pose I was standing in. A stand with a hand in the pocket and the other in the typical "attention" position. She seemed to have noticed that this was how I behave around acquaintances.

"Oh, Miku! Let me introduce! This is Troy… This is Amandah…" I started, gesturing at them and the four of them automatically took the role of introducing themselves (and giving an awkward handshake between human to vocaloid).

"Ahoi! Ahoi! I see! I see! How did you meet them!" Miku asked and I was stunned for a moment and turned to look at them until Lindsey looked up and replied coolly-

"Barzini pointed us to the right way for the sushi bar." She said, her eyebrows forming an arch, a slight hint of a smile.

"I shee! Hungwy! Guuuu!" Miku pouted, hugging her own stomach and I looked at my newfound friends, slightly embarrassed.

"O-Okay… I better make a reservation here… I doubt we'll get back to Singapore in time…" I sighed, and Miku jumped for joy.

"We're rushing first thing in the morning." I said, and walked over to the counter, where an old lady who looked like she had lived long enough to watch the War of Independence in America was seated.

"One night, two people." I said quickly, wanting to avoid un-necessary conversations and get a room quickly.

The old lady gazed at me through her spectacles and pointed at the pricing, which I coughed up accordingly, and I now had another situation to take care of. Paying for dinner. I got no choice now…

I still had seventy Singapore dollars in my camera pouch, and by right, there should be a money exchange in all established resorts in Japan according to their own rates. (Of course, you'll be on the suffering end of the exchange…)

"Give me a moment, fellows!" I said awkwardly to my new friends, and Troy nodded, a stupid grin on his face. Was he pitying me!

"Arigatou gozaimasu…" The old lady said as I paid her off after exchanging my remaining Singapore dollars to Japanese Yen, and she walked out slowly from behind her counter, and her back hunched, led the way to my room and after making a few turns here and there, she slid the door open and bowed as Miku and I walked in, and I ditched my sling bag, but clung onto my camera pouch. I was queasy. I mean… I guess I'm paranoid but still…

"Come, Miku! Let's go!" I smiled, looking at that teal haired girl who was leaning against the wall and hugging her stomach.

"Hai hai!" She bowed, and winked.

Xxx

That sushi bar… Oh well, this sushi bar… It was pretty empty that night, so our small group of people had no problem finding a seat. It was them fanboys and fangirls.

Before I could even put an unagi sushi in my mouth, one girl had come up to ask for a photograph, and knowing Miku who would happily oblige, that sushi barely came down well in my stomach, due to the fact that it would be the first of many.

Lindsey however, looked barely disturbed, even coolly putting on her sunglasses before pulling off her scarf. Her complexion was amazing.

"You sure you can see anything under those sunglasses? I mean, this room is already poorly lit." Troy looked at her and Lindsey nodded.

"Damn, this is nice." Amandah said, taking a bite off an Inarizushi after dipping it with a little soya sauce.

"Of course, this is sushi my friend." Howard said, with a rare gentlemanly tone, and as I twitched with annoyance over another group of males coming over, the four looked barely irked.

"Barzini, tell me. You're from?" Amandah quizzed, and I took a bite off my own rice ball and answered, "Singapore. It's a bloody boring country. Don't come."

"Why would you say that?" Troy asked, slightly surprised.

"You just slammed your own country man!" Howard reiterated, and I shrugged.

"It's boring. Universal studios is like a cheap rip off from the Orlando version, minus the Harry Potter World. We barely have history. Any exciting ones were created in World War Two and it's not much either." I said, sipping my tea and staring at my empty wooden plate.

"Come on… It can't be that bad mate!" Troy said, giving me a strong pat on the shoulder, and I nodded my head in defiance.

"Shopping, maybe, but for tourists. We don't really have any local produce. We copy foreign tv shows… And… Fine, maybe the food is good but other than that…" I said, and Miku frowned.

"Technology! Singapore technology advanced, Barzini-sama!" Miku chided, and I rolled my eyes. It's not as if I could see that anyway.

"Maybe. If a Singaporean can't see that for himself, I doubt anyone can. Wait, fine, maybe the schools are pretty advanced technologically, but otherwise… I doubt the Science Centre can impress anyone either." I shrugged and Lindsey cocked her head, eyeing me through her shades.

"Be our guide the next time we head there alright?" Lindsey smiled, a corner of her lips etching upwards, forming a sly smile and I nodded, sipping my tea.

"When are you guys going back to… Wait… My manners… What do you guys do and where are y'all from?" I said, guessing either Australian or British.

"From the UK, mate. We're on vacation." Troy said, taking a HUGE bite off his rice ball.

"What school?" I asked, and Amandah started-

"Troy, Lindsey and I are from Oxford. Howard is from Brown." Amandah said and I went wow… These are smart folks.

"Wow… Just wow…" I muttered.

"I'm full." Lindsey laid back in her seat and stretched, and I stood up to walk about along the glass paneled windows.

Japan is so beautiful…

"Barzini, my man! You got skype?" I turned around and saw Howard with a quizzical look and I nodded.

"Add me up All of you!" I replied, and Miku cheered.

"Add me too~!"

Xxx

Back in the room, I couldn't sleep. It was impossible. The images of that day's events kept playing in my undying mind.

Sitting up, and staring at Miku who was on the mattress right beside me. (Hey, I'm on another mattress, not a bed. I'm a gentleman! I think… )

Flipping open the camera pouch, I took out my camera and fished out its memory card and stared at it, toying with it in between my fingers.

"Mhm." I muttered and slot it into my memory card reader for my laptop and as I booted it up, I scanned through the photos, taking at least a full five minutes to scrutinize each of the thirty over photos before moving on.

My mind only got more alert as I went through them. Not more tired. Not good. Couldn't sleep.

Should I tell my friends about this?

Curiosity kills the cat, doesn't it?

But still…

No, academics first. Pretend you forgot the whole matter!

As my hand hovered over to delete the files, it hesitated, and I found myself taking out a CD to copy the images into it and keeping it in my sling bag instead of pouch.

"Last night… Good night…" I waved to my imaginary friend of a memory card, and deleted the photos regarding the incident within it.

Shaking my head, I staggered to my feet and left the resort to sit outside with my camera, looking at the night sky. Sapporo was beautiful. It had stars. Singapore's night sky is pretty dead.

"You couldn't sleep either?" I heard someone say and I turned around, and to my surprise, it was Lindsey that had spoken less than ten sentences since we met.

"Yes… You?" I asked, and she laughed.

"I'm right here, aren't I?" She replied and I shook my head, laughing.

"True true." I said, and noticed her scarf was now up again, her sunglasses gone.

"Why can't you sleep?" I asked her and she made the aero plane gestureand rolled her eyes. Jet lag.

"Ah… I'm thinking about today." I said, stretching my legs and she laughed.

"No worries! Act dumb! You can do it! I know you can!" She laughed, pretty hard for something that wasn't really funny and I just gave a small smile in reply.

"Troy and Howard are playing Blackjack inside. Amandah can fall asleep anywhere and everywhere." Lindsey said and I gave her the thumbs up.

"Got to respect Amandah for her skills." I joked and she gave a polite laugh.

"Yer she does! Tell me Barzini, have you read any like… Novels?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Lord of the Rings series… Hunger Games… Bachman books… A lot… I read a lot of authors… Stephen King, Rowling, Robert Ludlum… Uhm… Tolkien… Not Twilight though." I said, ending the last three words with a heavy emphasis despite a more polite tone, just in case she was a Twihard.

"Ah I see… You follow Harry Potter then!" She said and I nodded.

"Yes, it's my childhood. Well part of it anyway. Pokémon… Yu-gi-Oh… What else… Romance of the Three Kingdoms… Harvest Moon…" I smiled and she laughed.

"My goodness! What a great child hood you must have had!" She said, and I nodded enthusiastically.

"It was great. Didn't last too long though! You?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"Missed out on a lot of things." She replied, sitting on the bench beside me.

"Oh… Why's that?" I asked, and she pulled off her scarf, and it took me about twenty seconds or maybe even a minute to take in who she was.

Xxx

"You're… Emma…. W- W- Wa-" I kept repeating, speechless, and she did a little curtsy.

"Now you know why I had not much of a brilliant childhood." She said, and her voice and face fitted in perfectly.

"Wow. Just wow." I said, however, not feeling that rush I ought to feel when I meet a big shot or someone I like. A LOT.

"Say, you're taking it in pretty well!" She laughed, and I shrugged.

"You're breaking it to me at like what… Past midnight? My mind is alert but my brain is dead. Maybe I'll squeal tomorrow morning or afternoon." I said and she went into fits of laughter.

Suddenly, we heard a footstep behind us, and I turned around, and I saw that Miku was in her snow costume.

"Eh! I was looking all over for you!" Miku pointed accusingly at me and I stood up and took a step back.

"What is it?" I asked. What could Miku want at past midnight?

"My bedtime story! You think because I'm tired, I can fully fall asleep! Story! Story! Story!" She stomped her foot in the snow, acting like the world's number one princess. Emma/Lindsey was clearly having a great time.

"Alright alright… Emma, want to listen to a story?" I asked, and she nodded.

"I'd love to!" She smiled, and Miku squeezed herself between where I sat down and where Emma was. I proceeded to settle down beside her.

"It was in World War Two… Japan was being bombed by American forces. This is a story of a brother and sister who lived in Kobe. The father was in the Japanese Imperial navy, so the mother took care of the two. The mother had an asthma condition…" I said, and Miku already started yawning.

"So one day, when the air sirens rang, the brother and the sister went off first, as the mother needed to get her medication first…" I continued, and by then, Miku's head had already drooped onto my shoulder and was snoring.

Emma gave a soft chuckle.

"She's asleep already! You're barely two minutes into the story!" Emma said, and I sighed.

"You ought to watch it. It's called Grave of the Fireflies. I cried." I said, and Emma nodded slowly.

"Well… Should we go to sleep?" Emma said, and I shook my head.

"You go! I need to think over something first!" I smiled and she gave a dazzling smile before turning to leave.

Soon, the sky was already giving a slight hint of the sun. Soon. Soon.

Xxx

There. Plane ticket booked. A night flight. Great.

I got chided by the resort owner for falling asleep outside in the cold, and Miku wasn't exactly a great fan of being woken up early by cursing… Oh well… That's Vocaloid baby-sitting for you.

"Miku, we're leaving tonight." I said, and she nodded, yawning cutely as she stretched her hands.

The moment I packed up everything in my room, I bumped into the four who had heard the commotion and could tell we were leaving.

"Hey man. Have a safe flight bro." Troy said, giving me a MAN TO MAN hug, and Howard shook my hand.

"Bye guys! Bye Emma! Bye Amandah! Farewell!" I said, waving, and the three looked at Emma/Lindsey in surprise.

"You told-" Troy started and Emma waved him off.

"Mata ne minna!" Miku waved, and Troy wolf whistled to general laughter.

"Bye!" I waved one last time before stepping out of the resort and back to the hotel.

Xxx

The things I had bought for my friends will be shipped to Singapore they say, courtesy of Mandarake Sapporo, the front desk relayed the message to me.

"Just our luggage and one noisy girl." I sighed, sitting in the airport and as I was connected to the Wi-Fi, Skype blurted up and Nicole had poked me as usual.

As I poked back, and when the reply that came to me was, a very unfriendly "WHAT", I knew for certain that Kaito was now at the computer and it was a wasted chance to not blast him.

I like bullying him. Don't ask me why. Maybe if his hair was orange, I wou- Forget it, stay as blue.

"You and your inpopularity! I wonder why Nicole got someone as bad as you!" I messaged Kaito and Kaito replied indignantly-

"I may not be as famous as Miku but you don't have to rub it in, Barzini-san!"

_But! All you like is aisu, what else can you do._

_What's wrong with liking aisu! You Miku only likes LEEKS!_

_Leeks are good for the voice!_

After a brief moment of silence, the call tone rang up and I accepted the call, and I could hear practically the whole damn group blasting through my ear piece.

I heard Meiko's voice, but the bad reception cut it off partially and I said into the microphone, "Hello! Everything okay back there!"

"Yup...we're good," Nicole replied, sitting down next to Kaito on... What on earth is that?

"Turn on the webcam!" Miku cried out, jabbing the camera repeatedly, and I obliged in resignation.

"So we can begin," I said, clapping my hands together and rubbing it. Warmup. Try it next time. It gives you an instant look of authority.

"Yes sir! We need to decide who is going to represent our group!" Amy quipped, giving me a salute.

Miku's hand shot up, "Me! Yes! It's my turn!" She squealed, the fact that it into my ear not helping.

"But the theme is change right..." Michelle said, her hair still as… Awesome as ever… "What would you sing about Miku chan?"

"I'm already perfect! What would I have to change...?" Miku replied, and I had to suppress my laughter.

Everyone thought long and hard before, Zhengyi's hand came up, "You know perhaps Neru should do it?"

"Are you suggesting that I need to change!" Neru said incredulously, her yellow hair flying about as she whipped her head around. Zheng Yi and his big mouth…

I saw Amoz mutter something and cast a brief glance at Rin, before Rin held up an orange to his face.

"My twin is perfectly fine!" I could hear Len say, therefore, I could infer it was something with Rin having to CHANGE.

"Nyan then who?" SeeU purred from her chair.

"I'll do it," a voice came.

I had to hug my earpiece to tell whose voice it was. Meiko's? I was bloody dreaming.

"Oh come on! Quit staring!" she said, her arms folded and glaring at the webcam.

"All in favour of Meiko san," Kaito said slowly, raising his hand, with the rest in the room following suit. At last, I raised my hand.

"Aye."

Coming to a quick agreement, Meiko was going to represent our groups, and with her figure, Karina and I were already thinking about the wardrobe before anything else.

"You'll be back on a Sunday right?" Michelle posed the question to Barzini.

I nodded, "Yep, Sunday morning! So maybe a group meeting in the afternoon when I get back."

Of course, I did not find it necessary to reveal that I would be stopping by Anime Festival Asia in Malaysia before coming back to Singapore…

"Yes, sir." Mai said, looking up briefly from his game.

"I propose our two groups switch roles this time," Nicole raised my hand and said.

"So…we'll do the melody and harmonies of the song as well as wardrobe and props…while Barzini will do the lyrics as well as the stage set up yes?" Karina questioned.

I nodded. "Sounds good," Zhengyi rubbed his hands together.

"Okay, so it's decided then-" Nicole said, eyeing Kaito through her spectacles.

"But what about the dance?" Hannah asked.

All heads turned to Meiko, well she was the oldest vocaloid here, and none of us really knew what to do.

She sighed and said, "I'll come up with something when the music composition is out."

"Great, we're done then!" Nicole cheered, "My group will meet up tomorrow, and first combined rehearsal on Monday?"

I nodded and smiled.

"Okey! Booked the music hall and rooms for our use on Monday and tomorrow already!" Aki perked up.

This was one hell of a group. With a perfect slave driver for a leader and willing slaves.

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>Hey all! Barzini here! A big shoutout to all who had been falling the story so far! I added the Emma scene here because I got her autograph… Again… XD<strong>

**Oh and it'll be part of the plot. No worries! I got something in mind, and no, it isn't Emma X Barzini (I'd love to, but no)**

**So how have you all been?  
><strong>

**Why not guess what I bought for everyone! Guess! **

**Take care!**


	18. Chapter 18

It was our first meeting to come up with the costume and the song.

And so barely one hour into the meeting...my ears were dying...I mean just imagine...Karina was trying to explain to me the finer points of the chorus, Len was playing the drums, Piko and Haku were on the keyboard trying something out that Piko apparently read from a book, Yukina, Aki and Amy were talking animatedly about this costume design, and Allen well he was being Allen, and Hannah I dunno where she was (Meiko said something about passed out in the room) and Meiko herself, well she was drinking sake again (in her context of sparingly), while Piko brewed a new batch of his special brand of sake tasting tea.

All in all, with sound, it sounded something like this…

"Ah…need another bottle of …s-sake…"

"THIS! It needs to be red!" Amy squealed, waving about the design sheet.

"Bare back! Meiko-san has a good figure!" Yukina grabbed the paper and edited the design.

"So…something powerful…like this!" Piko said excitedly, playing a tune out in forte. Haku nodded beside him.

"Da-da-dum-da-da-da-ta-la-bang!" Len was shaking his head and twirling the drum sticks while hashing out some beats.

"This part goes kinda like this..." Karina was shouting to me literally.

I put up a hand to stop her before saying, "Guys..." then a little louder, "PEOPLE!" everyone froze, then Len accidentally, crashed a cymbal, and the atmosphere relaxed a little.

I breathed out, not even knowing I was holding my breath, "we need to work together a bit yes...so maybe everyone tell me what you came up with in the past hour."

Karina raised her hand slowly and said, "Um…so continuing…I was kinda inspired by some jazz pieces I've been listening to recently and so I came up with this for the chorus…" she hummed the few bars she came up with.

"Then how about this?" Len demoed an impromptu on a set of rhythms, something like a dum-dum-da-dum base beat.

Karina slapped him on the back and said, "That…that was great!" Len was glowing in the praise, when Piko played a short phrase on the keyboard.

Which caught all of our attention, "Ah…Piko was right…the perfect intro…" Haku said, half in awe and half in something else? Nevertheless, a great intro all right, attention grabbing, just a little harsh with the forte, but that can be changed.

"Not bad for a start! So…um…people working on the song can carry on…" I walked over to where Yukina, Aki and Amy were sitting, paper all sprawled out over the hardwood dance floor, while the racket started up behind me again, honestly it was amazing how they could work and product awesome stuff with all that noise.

Then Allen got up and started fiddling with some thing at the sides of the room, then pulling out the divider, he shut out the noise with a click and sat cross-legged.

"Um…I just thought…you know…less noise…"

"The room had a divider…" I didn't know that, I guess Allen's just more observant than me.

"Choose!" Aki quipped over the strange atmosphere that was staring to build, shoving three pieces of paper towards me.

"The first design, is a white dress, heart-shaped, princess cut on top and flared at the bottom, about tea length I think," Yukina elaborated.

Circling points on the dress, Aki said, "and there will be flowers here, most possibly in cream and yellow colour, theme is more of a carefree like girly kinda change."

Sticking some post-it's down on the sheet was Allen, "um…I came up with these…the first one is a half-glove tapered at the end, made of lace…and the second…a head piece based on a flowers theme, somewhat gauzy material I think…"

We stared, we stared until Allen's face turned red. His accessory designs were beautiful. Another hidden talent, I thought.

"These…are a perfect touch to the dress…" Yukina whispered.

"I knew ya had it in you!" Amy said punching Allen in the shoulder, "anyway on to the next design…and give some ideas too…" she shoulder bumped Allen.

"Design two! It's a two piece, we were thinking the top will be in leather, maroon red, lace-up back, stops at the midriff," I nodded, showing off the figure, more towards the sexy side I guess.

"The bottom is a black mini skirt, um…I kinda flowly type of material, a few jewelled embellishments as a design, um the theme is a more open showy kind of change, bold." Yukina ended, and I turned to Allen and said, "any ideas?"

"Yup…uh…perhaps a cropped-hoodie in a shade of maroon with a thick outer trimming, rolled up loose sleeves," he talked as he drew the additional garment on the design model, it made the whole overall look casual.

It was good, it was a look that Meiko could pull off, then I turned my attention to the three look and instantly, I knew it was the one I was going to vote for.

"...red, halter dress, bare back, black beading for the trimming at the hem...tight fit all the way before flaring out at the hips." Yukina said, before Aki barged in and said, " and when she turns, it will swirl and fan out beautifully."

Allen stuck a hand in add on to the design, " elbow length back fingerless gloves...black jeweled hairpiece..." he muttered adding in the detailing.

I stabbed the paper, "this...this is the one...refreshing, yet sexy in a classy way...shows off Meiko's curves..." I nodded to myself, and found the three others nodding along with me.

I fumbled with my laptop, "scan...scan it in! I want to see it on Meiko!"

"I'll go get my portable scanner," Yukina said, rushing out of the room.

"We'll finalize the design material," Allen nodded, to me as I prepared myself to head over to the more chaotic side of the room. As I opened the partition the last thing I heard was Aki saying something about ballet flats, before everything got lost in the mass of sound.

"Nicole! Over here!" Karina waved.

I looked at the almost completed score, "it's almost done?" I exclaimed.

Karina nodded, "want to hear it?"

"Yup please!"

"Okay! Guys! Let's demo what we have!" Karina shouted.

"One...two...one...two...three...!" Len started before, starting the base beat, with Piko joining in approximately one bar later.

About five bars later, the melody was woven in, then a break, then they continued in beat again, finishing off with a fade.

"I'm assuming the break is the bridge or something?" I asked.

"Yup." Piko looked up from the keyboard, then he mumbled, "we need a jazz instrument…"

"Eh…why?" Haku questioned.

"Mmm…this is coming together like a jazz song…" Piko commented, tapping a finger on the side,I guess something was missing but he just hadn't figured out what it is yet.

"I'm here!" the door slid open with a bang, and Hannah stepped in, "had a major headache…" ah from what… one could only guess.

"Maybe you could tell us what's missing then…" Meiko said from her corner where she was sitting, putting her sake bottle down.

They played the composition once again, only this time it was slightly different when Len adjusted the beats improvising and improving it as they went along.

"It needs a saxophone..." she concluded.

"But none of us can play-" Haku started in a concern voice, before Kaito sheepishly cut in a said, "I can…"

"You…can…" I shot him the why-didn't-you-tell-me look.

"Perfect then! We can borrow one from the concert band! In fact, let's go get one now…" Karina twirled around my vocaloid, then dragging Len out by the hand they left.

"Wa la! The costume!" the divider opened and Yukina was at the light switch dimming the lights, a zoomed in 3-D image was projected on the screen from my lappie.

Aki gave the screen a gentle flick on the screen, and the image of Meiko in the dress design turned on the spot.

"I like…but needs a bit more…" Meiko walked towards my laptop, turning the screen into a tablet she pulled out the pen, and edited the front to a halter design, and pushed the detachable sleeves a good three inches above the elbow, "suggestions?" she asked the lot of us.

"It looks even better now…" Hannah said, nodding her approval.

"We're back!" Karina announced, then taking a look at the picture on screen she let out a squeal and said, "I love it!"

"Whoa…Meiko-nee gonna wear that!" Len exclaimed, passing the saxophone to Kaito.

Amy nudged him and said, "why can't take your eyes off of Meiko now huh…Rin's gonna be jealous…"

"No! Nothing like that!" Len hurriedly answered.

Switching topic suddenly, Amy said, "well…let's hear it! The song!"

They took their positions while, Piko told Kaito which notes to play off his piano score. Ah…he never told me he could play the sax, just goes to show how much I know and don't know about my companion.

They started again, to me each time they played, they seem to add something new to the song, then hitting the part where there was supposed to be the bridge, Kaito decided to launch into a solo piece, Len catching on helped support as they figured their way back into the main chorus melody.

From where I stood, I saw Haku lean over Piko and whispered something to him, he nodded, then announced, "slow the tempo down a bit and use more legato."

Kaito and Len smoothly followed Piko's lead and seamlessly continued playing the last chorus and ending fade. Turns out vocaloids could not only sing, they could adapt to instruments just as well.

Yukina, Allen, Amy and Aki clapped, the faithful audience.

"Okay, I think that was perfect! Let's take a audio and send it off so that Barzini's team can combine it with their lyrics." I said.

Xxx

"That's a wrap!" I took off the headphones, and pressed send on the email with the song attachment.

"Good job, people!" Aki punched the air and said. I'd say, at 12am at night she was still a ball of energy as for the rest of us, I had just flopped on the hardwood floor, Kaito was polishing and cleaning up his instrument trying not to sleep, Len was already sprawled over the drum set, Karina was nodding off in front of the music score. Haku had her head on Piko's shoulder, they looked cute together. Meiko and Hannah left early to settle the costume, so the only people alive and had their eyes open were Yukina, Allen, Amy, Aki and me.

The recording took about seven takes to get it right, and the people currently awake with me were the ones who finished, cleaning and editing the sound track. One original song in one evening, no sweat…

"You think we can just crash here?" Amy asked in a whisper.

I turned my head, "I guess we could, so long as no teacher comes in and finds out, I guess..."

"We!" Aki started loudly, we all shushed her, as we watch nervously if any of the sleeping ones would wake up, only Len stirred a little.

"We…should just grab the pillows and sleep here…" Aki continued now more conscious of her volume.

I nodded, stifling a yawn I pushed a pillow under Kaito's head just as he dropped off to sleep, being a flute player myself, I understood that blowing woodwind instruments for a long time literally took the breath out of you.

Pulling my own pillow to the pile of pillows the other four gathered, we created some sort of nest. I reached to switch off the lights, then taking one edge of pile of pillows I stared up at the star constellations, silently naming them in my head; I was just going to fall asleep when I heard someone murmuring something, almost in song.

Listening closely, I identified something like this…

"Ba…ba…banana…marsh…mallow…vanilla…ba…nana…chocolate…" I smiled to myself as I realised what it was, apparently Kaito wasn't the only who talked in his sleep, the only curious thing was that their murmurings were in rhythm, and it was cute the way Piko said marsh and Haku completed the word for him. The only one that didn't participate was Aki, propping myself up on my elbow I looked over and saw why, she was already snuggling with her apple soft toy.

Xxx

Someone was knocking the door, I winced and folded up the sides of the pillow, convincing myself that it was a dream and to go back to sleep.

"Aki said 8am didn't she!" 8am for what? I thought.

More rustling, more murmuring, ah the fact that I was already thinking, I might as well abandon my sleep.

Getting up, slowing, I realised I was the only light sleeper in here, I ran my fingers through my hair, straightening my clothes I opened the door and looked up sleepily, "yea…"

"Um…Nicole…" Michelle started slightly concerned.

"Uh…wait…wha…what are you guys doing here!" I was finally awaking, staring back at the bunch of people staring at me.

Amoz peered around the corner, "Don't tell me…you people stayed here for the night!"

"Ah…yea…we finished quite late," I explained, I was wondering how I was going to get all of them up.

"Len!" Rin was already in the room and poking at Len's cheek.

Len's elbow jerked up and smacked Rin in the face, ah…not a good move.

"Kaito…wake up…" I tapped him on the shoulder, he stirred and I moved on to Karina.

Amy and Aki were curled in the centre of the 'nest' we built and Luka and Neru were waking them up. While Allen and Yukina just woke up on their own.

"Ah…sorry the room is in such a mess…" Yukina politely apologized.

"No prob," Mai said back, sinking into a pillow on the floor, his eyes not even coming off from his PSP screen.

"Well…we'll be going now…" I said, grabbing my lappie, as I ushered everyone who was not supposed to be there out.

Xxx

We sleepy heads finally stumbled back into our rooms, when I remembered I was supposed to review the costume again with Hannah and Meiko, soon at noon.

I threw myself into my beanbag on the floor as Kaito stumbled into his bed, still clutching the saxophone. Which we had to return, I mentally added to the list of things I was supposed to do later.

"You never told me you could play that…" I questioned the ceiling.

"You never asked…" Kaito said back, still tired.

"Let's catch a few more hours of sleep before we meet up with Meiko and Hannah," I suggested, hearing no reply, I found that my blue haired friend had already dozed off.

Xxx

Ah…banging …again…people should stop banging things…what is this…the second time in a day…I opened one eye and peeked at the door, it looked like the thing was going to fly off.

I swung my legs off the bed, when I saw a dash of blue and watched Kaito open the door, "What!" he snapped. He snapped I never seen Kaito snap actually.

"No…you can't come in…" he sounded irritated, "…Nicole-sama is still resting…"

He was in a bad mood, I guess no ice-cream and no good night's sleep was a lethal combination, I mean I can't imagine that sleeping over an instrument with keys poking all over is comfortable at all. It was only then that I decided to take a look at the time, and no wonder people were banging at the door! I was supposed to meet them at noon and it was already 30 minutes past.

Walking towards the door, I pulled Kaito backwards and pushed him towards his bed, "sleep…" I ordered, before apologizing and letting Meiko and Hannah into my side of the room.

"Wow he was grumpy…" Hannah commented.

"Yea…we ended pretty late…anyway let's see the dress!"

Meiko unzipped it from the costume bag, and walked into the bathroom to change.

"Ah…the room smells fresh…" Hannah leaned back.

I laughed, "alcohol is off limts…"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that…" Meiko said as she walked out in that stunning dress, ah yes…I did have to get used to her sober.

"So…so how do I look?" she did a small twirl, the dress fanning out just like Aki said it would.

I nodded, "Perfect…wait…" then I whipped out my camera and took a picture, "mmm…you came up with the dance yet?"

"Somewhat…"

"Try a few steps?" I requested.

Meiko nodded, I took out my lappie, and pressed play.

I watched as Meiko, did a suave and slow dance, almost as seductive as her voice. The dress moved with her beautifully, hugging her every curve, ah…you'd never imagine her, this awesome under all that hangovers.

Even Kaito, who walked in halfway, hair wet from the bath, couldn't keep his eyes off her, not that I minded of course.

"That was good…on stage you'd have more space I guess…well…see you tomorrow for the combined rehearsal…" leading them out, I shut the door when they left.

"How's the mood?" I asked Kaito.

"Much better…my first aisu in weeks!" he said in-between licks of ice cream.

"Right~" not having aisu for one day was a week to him, "…shall we pop over to the band room to return them the sax?"

He nodded in response.

Fifteen minutes later after I had taken a bath, we were off to the band room and you know you hit the right place when you see people running around with reeds and playing scales.

"Yo!" I turned and found Garcia standing behind, then I remembered she was in the concert band CCA.

"Hi! Where's Nori?"

She lifted one finger, "One, probably purposely shifted an oboist's reed position causing chaos," she lifted the next finger, "two, he hid all the polish from the tuba players," she lifted a third finger, "three, he reordered one page of someone's scores and that person will be frantic later I'd expect," lifting a fourth finger, "fourth, he played with the tuning of the keyboard, and sometimes the keyboardist notices sometimes he doesn't…"

"…" basically we had nothing to say to that.

"Kaito intends to join the band?" Garcia questioned, eyeing the saxophone.

"Ah…no no…we're just here to return it…" Kaito said.

"Well you can just pass it to me I guess, I'm on the way to the instrument room anyway…" Garcia offered her hand and Kaito passed it to her.

"See you around then…and good luck for the project!" she waved as she left.

"Good luck to you too!" I shouted back.

Xxx

"So…tell me about how you came to play the saxophone…" I rolled around on the floor trying to find a comfortable position.

Kaito was lying down on his bed looking down at me, "it was nothing much, there was just this one time, I had to do this music video where I was supposed to pretend to play a sax, but then I thought, I could just learn it for real, so then Crypton made me one, I went for crash courses for a little less than a month and eventually, the guy who was supposed to be providing the background music while I pretended to play, lost his job…"

"Hehh…so vocaloids can sing and learn instruments like nobody's business…" I commented.

Kaito rolled onto his back, "yep…pretty much I guess…" ah…he said it like it was no big deal, I guess they'd never know how much work we humans had to put in to get a piece of music right.

* * *

><p><strong>Arigatou for reading! I'm starting my next term of school next week…T.T…eto…then I guess till next time …mata!<strong>


	19. Chapter 19

The flight from Sapporo to Malaysia was smooth. I mean, it's a Japanese airline I was flying in. You certainly can trust a plane coated with pictures of Pokémon on them.

Let's be honest here. If I were to go to Anime Festival Asia, I certainly was not going to stop for Ramly's burgers or the sort. The moment I landed, I straight away went for four cups of coffee from Starbucks (Miku had six) and we took a taxi for Putra World Trade Centre. The crowd was big, but not as bad as that in Singapore. In Singapore, you should head there early to snap up the goods.

Or you'll be fighting with a crowd, shoving, pushing and finding out in the end that what you want has been sold out. And oh... How you shall despair!

"Miku, are you sure you want to come?" I asked, running straight for the ticketing counter despite the question, and buying I 3 Anisong's tickets to that day. To be honest, if I ever was interested, it would only be in Kotoko. You have the anime, Shakugan no Shana to thank for that.

Miku was getting far more attention than me. I do not like- I mean, naturally. I mean she is Hatsune Miku of course.

She was posing for photos with fans, some also dressed in her cosplay.

"Your cosplay is good!" Miku praised a certain fan, and I thought that the girl was about to faint from excitement.

"... I thought Hatsune Miku was not performing this year?" I heard an event organiser say, inferring that he was one from the tag he was wearing around his neck.

"I thought she wasn't? But wasn't she just projected onto screen? Why is she moving about?" Another organiser whispered to the other and there was general confusion.

"Hatsune Miku! Will you go and prepare backstage please?" An organiser roughly stepped forward and Miku stood there stunned for a moment before bowing.

"Hai! Hai!" Miku started walking to the auditorium, stepped onto the stage brazenly and went around it, and abruptly walking backwards.

"Barzini-sama! Hayaku!" She shouted, waving at me, and I put my scarf on like Emma had did and ran to Miku and quickly behind the stage with her.

"Are you kidding? You want to perform?" I asked Miku, and she shook her head.

"You want to see Kotoko right? Right!" Miku smiled, and a smile grew across my lips.

"I never knew the day would come when you'll actually be useful for a change!" I squealed a little, suppressing her protests of, "What did that mean!"

Going backstage, I could see no familiar faces although they did have the slight air of someone famous.

"Barzini-sama... That's FLOW..." Miku whispered and I acted like a huge fan, shuffling forward eagerly.

"Isshou ni shashin wo totte kuremasen ka, soshite sain o shite moraemasu ka!" A well memorised line basically summarising taking photographs and getting autographs.

The men took little notice of me and it was more of Miku that got their attention towards me.

"Onegai!" I bowed and they relented, allowing me to take a photograph of their smiling faces along with my rather stoned one, and after that, they signed in my sketchbook, which was labelled AFA 2012 at the very front of the book.

After that, they pretty much more or less pointed at Miku before walking away and leaving me forever alo- I mean, behind.

As we walked further down the corridor, you could hear a group of girls giggling, in a room. On the door, it was labelled Sea*A.

"That's cool... I heard a couple of their songs!" I whispered excitedly, but obviously I could not simply open the door like a creep and ask them so brazenly with my charming good looks and deep manly voice.

"Go in!" Miku urged and I shook my head forcefully.

"Baka!" She stuck out her tongue and walked THROUGH the door, and I covered my ears as screaming ensued, followed by several squealing. I could hear Miku's squeaky voice through the door. After a few minutes, the door open and a pair of eyes stared at me, before the door snapped shut again, followed by girlish giggles.

When the door finally opened, one of the girls from Sea*A walked out, suppressing a grin.

"Come in!" She smiled and I waddled in, my legs suddenly tensing up.

"Wait. You're very familiar." I paused staring at one of them.

"Photo! Barzini-sama!" Miku said, pointing at my camera.

Keeping my eye on one of the members, I swivelled the camera towards all of us and snapped a photo, and smiling, I handed them my scrapbook.

"Autograph it for me please!" I said politely and one of them took out a silver pen and signed it on a fresh page and passed it around and they all signed them individually.

"Thank you for your support of Sea*A!" The apparent leader smiled and handed the book back to me, and I thanked them profusely before leaving, half confused.

"I swear I saw one of them before..." I told Miku who shrugged and walked forward with a skip in her steps.

"KOTOKO... Where is she..." I sighed, prompting Miku to pull a face.

"Cheer up Barzini-sama! GUUUU!" She made weird faces by pressing her hand in various directions and I laughed.

As we toured up and down the backstage corridor, there was no sign of KOTOKO's room or KOTOKO herself. I was devastated.

"Let's go Miku... We need to be at the front of the stage later... Or it'll be hard to squeeze..." I said, walking away sadly when someone behind me suddenly cried out.

"S-Sorewasorewa, Miku doshou ne!" A rather womanly voice called out, and Miku instantly placed her hands on her hips.

"What did you mean by that! Of cour- Soudaiyo! Mochiron watashi desu!" Miku pouted.

I turned around and saw a lady dressed in a dark red cloak with a black dress inside, and guess who.

"PLEASE! I AM BLOODY BEGGING YOU! TAKE A PHOTO WITH ME AND GIVE ME YOUR AUTOGRAPH!" I said, falling to my knees, holding up my camera and scrapbook at the same time.

"E-Eh!" Kotoko cried out, and after Miku explained, she laughed and gave a good natured nod.

Xxx

"I'm so... Happy..." I muttered as I jellyfish walked out of the concert hall which had just finished, with Kotoko's Light My Fire still ringing in my ears.

I thought I saw Miku smile weirdly, and I looked at her for a minute before figuring out I was thinking too much, and flagged a taxi.

"Singapore please." I said, feeling oddly content and laid my head against the seat and giving Miku one faint smile before starting to doze off as the taxi started

Managing one last snap, I turned around and took a photo of the auditorium which was starting to power down before sleeping, just like the turquoise headed friend beside me.

Content. I am content.

Xxx

By the time I reached Crypton School of the Future with a Singaporean taxi, it was already late night. Hoisting my luggage into the elevator and down the corridor, I swiped the card into my room, and Miku entered first, yawning greatly, and falling onto the bed.

I had a pretty sweet nap in both cabs, so I still had some energy left. I unpacked my clothes, stacking them neatly into the wardrobe, and lined up the merchandises for myself nicely along the shelves on the walls and my study table.

First of all, I had to update my bank book to see how much I have and start going on a diet. I had spent too much money and too much was an understatement.

Second, we had the group project. The group had better been productive or else.

Finally, Operation Bakaito. But that have to be on hold for a while, at least until the things I ordered from Mandarake Sapporo arrives.

Staring at the hole, I knew Nicole would murder me with her famous choke holds or throw me out the window if I disturbed her sleep; I crawled into bed and turned off the lights, and turned on my laptop.

Booting up, it automatically linked me to Crypton's WIFI, and I could hear the starting up sound of my Skype. My four western friends were all on.

I typed a simple hi to all four of them, and they replied almost instantaneously and Troy set up a five way chat.

_Hey man! –Troy_

_Yo! –Howard_

_Hi there~ -Amandah_

_Good morning! –Emma/Lindsey_

_Its late here. So good night, almost. –Barzini_

_Oh well... I need to go soon... –Emma_

_We got classes. Troy and I. –Howard_

_We do? –Troy_

_Dude. History!-Howard _

_Dude that's just for you because you skipped classes the other day –Troy_

_YOLO!~ -Amandah_

_OH EM GEE. Amandah! Stop that! XD –Emma_

_Hey guys... I'm really tired. I have a music project to do tomorrow! –Barzini_

_Oh... Then I'd go too then... Good luck with your project and that robot! ^_^ -Emma_

_It's a hologram! Haha! Nevermind though! You guys have a great day! Ttyl! –Barzini_

Turning off skype, I plugged in the photo printer to my laptop and flipped out a stack of what I crudely call "photo paper" and slot it in, and highlighting everything and printing it. I know there won't be enough paper but... Who cares? I'll just fill it up the next day.

Crawling into bed, I smiled, stared at the Miku nendoroid on the shelf for a while before smiling and drifting to sleep.

Xxx

9am. Alarm rings. Oh when the alarm, oh when the alarm, oh when the alarm, oh when the alarm bursts your brain! We'll all be so jolly! Oh when the alarm bursts your brain!

Terrible, I know. Sing that to the tune of When the Saints Go Marching In. I got up and Miku was still asleep, probably being too tired.

Turning on my iPhone, I mass-texted everyone in my team, demanding they get their heads clear and food ready and be in my room at 11am sharp.

Knowing them, they'll be here on time.

I opened the mini fridge and took out the margarine, and slammed open the cabinet, pulling out a loaf of bread to butter.

The printer's light was blinking, probably because there weren't enough "photo paper" to print on, and maybe because I was running out of ink to print them. Why did I even do it at my dorm in the first place… I could have just brought it to the printing shop.

As I lamented inwardly about my dysfunctional state of mind, I heard a cute yawn, and said loudly, "Good morning Miku!"

"Ohayo…" She yawned and stumbled into the bathroom.

"Mhm…" I nodded and watched her stumble out, and bang her fist on the table.

"BREAD! BREAD! BREAD!" She cried out and pouted, and I cloned the vocaloid form and it fell onto the table.

"Arigatou!" Miku smiled and sat down.

Xxx

"Barzini. Nicole-sama would want you to know that the music is sitting in your inbox." I heard a voice and I looked up while the group was settling down. It was Kaito. I nodded and he left. He didn't even bother to call me sama anymore.

"Let's hear it shall we?" I started and Amoz raised his hand.

"We already have. We have the lyrics ready in fact. Just awaiting your approval." He said and I nodded, playing it anyway.

As I listened, my eyes widened. It had a generally more sexy tone, and had a huge amount of saxophone playing in it. Not that I complained anyway. Meiko was, admittedly, sexy, and this suited her. However, bearing in mind that the theme was, Change, I took the paper from Michelle who was holding it out gingerly.

"Well? Nya!" SeeU asked, pawing her face and I held up my hand. The universal language of wait.

"Who wrote this stanza? Ever since I was born, scared, I face this field. Now." I asked, looking around and Zheng Yi pointed at Neru.

"She suggested it." He said and Neru smiled triumphantly.

Noting the katana, I went to stand behind the table.

"Well… Since Meiko is a vocaloid…Don't you think change would be much more powerful if we claim it was the first time she was born?" I asked, and Neru's smile faded a little.

"I agree with Barzini! Right, everyone?" Rin said quickly, and Amoz nodded, standing in between me and Neru.

Mai even bothered to look up from his PSP and urged Luka forward, who nodded coolly.

"We'll change this then… And this one… I know that someone is controlling me… And they are controlling me." I said, and I clucked my tongue.

"What's wrong, Barzini-sama!" Miku asked, and I shook my head.

"Something's not right with this part. For the majority, as I can tell, you're talking about Change. But this part… Controlling me… I don't feel the impact…" I said, and Rin considered a moment.

"Oranges?" She smiled widely and everyone in the room gave her an odd glance.

"….It was just an idea…." Rin muttered and Luka looked up, holding her huge tuna plushie.

"Kokoro? Heart?" She said, and I hammered my fist onto the table.

"Eureka! Wonderful! Heart!" I smiled and scanned through the rest of the song, changing actions or movements to heart and editing it accordingly.

"Hmm…. Maybe after…" Mai started, and I looked at him.

"Yes? Don't leave a sentence hanging… Finish it!" I said, and he cocked his head.

"This was the first time I was born. Scared, I face this field. Well we can tell Meiko was a bit of an introvert here… Maybe if we can present the opposite in this stanza, it will show real change." Mai said, and all of us wowed.

"I didn't know you had your philosophical moments, Mai." Michelle chuckled and Mai flushed an ugly embarrassed red.

"Me has idea nya! Let's step out nya!" SeeU said, sitting on the floor.

"No no… Lets add… NOW! Let's step out!" I said, scribbling on the paper.

"The final stanza. The most important one. Now guys… You all just can't end off with, I'll change for you. It's lame. Seriously." I said, and Amoz turned around and rounded up on the rest of them.

"I told you all!" Amoz said, and for some reason, Michelle started laughing.

"I wrote that because Amoz kept repeating that when Mai and him were playing Minecraft and Mai kept placing the wrong blocks." She kept on laughing and it gradually got to us too, either grinning or laughing along with her.

"Okay… Okay… Whoa… Cool…" I coughed and straightened my face.

"Well… Since we have Meiko as an introvert…" Rin placed a finger under her chin and wondered.

"We can… Make her change for a man?" Luka asked, and Miku nodded enthusiastically.

"I know! I know! No more sake!" She cheered and all of us went silent, giving her the awkward stare.

"Nevermind… How about… At this moment, I've changed from the bottom of my heart, and this time, it'll be me, who'll reach out my hand, towards you." Luka asked, and I paused for a moment before nodding slowly and penning it down.

"You have a talent, Luka." I praised her and the tuna loving vocaloid smiled.

"Arigatou. Barzini-san."

"Well… Who wants to volunteer for translation to Japanese?" I asked, and everyone fell silent and looked away.

"So that's how it is huh." I asked, looking around.

"Thank you Zheng Yi." I handed the lyrics to him.

"Why me! I didn't volunteer!" He objected, along with Neru whose hand was on the katana.

"Oh, you didn't? You had that volunteer look!"

As Zheng Yi sulked and took the paper, I smiled, before Rin popped a question.

"What's the name of the song?"

"Hmm… Change? Change me?"

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>Hey all! Barzini here! School is starting next week! So… Nicole and I will update as soon as we can! We both have curricular commitments, school wise and other stuff… So yeah…<strong>

**Stay tuned for more wonderful realities!**


	20. Chapter 20

Mon…Monday…I dragged myself out of bed, who enjoys Mondays huh? Unless you're one of those people who say the week starts on Wednesday or something.

"Boo!" Kaito whispered in my ear, well that was enough to make me jerk back in reflex, getting the toothpaste on my toothbrush on the wall as it flew there.

"Don't do that!" I rounded on him, then I grinned and stuck out my tongue.

"Nicole-sama better hurry, it's almost time for class and you don't wanna have bad breath!" Kaito said back, excusing himself from the bathroom.

"Yea…yea…I know!" I shouted back at the closing door.

I was getting used to this, running around with my best friend, his ice cream obsession, his sometimes self-doubt, I smiled to myself in the mirror, this by far was the best decision in my life, going for that audition, entering this school, meeting Kaito. Shaking my head and clearing my thoughts, I opened the door…

And got a shock of my life…

Kaito was backing into the corner of his room, while Miku…she was advancing on him with something in her hands.

"Barzini! What's going on?" I asked my friend, his elbows propping himself up from the hole in my floor, calmly observing the scene.

"Nicole-sama!" Miku turned in surprised as she heard me, I looked down and saw a maid costume hairband! Kaito took this opportunity to escape from the corner.

"You don't like the present?" Barzini asked me, jerking his head in the direction of the full maid costume on the chair.

My jaw dropped, "that…must have cost you a decent amount of money…but seriously?" I exclaimed back, my mind not really agreeing with my words and secretly picturing Kaito in meido uniform.

"It'd be useful don't you think!" Barzini continued gleefully from his position.

"You should have just saved it for Miku," I said back, pointing to where Miku was putting on said hairband, checking herself out in the mirror.

"Sou daiyou! Barzini! Why didn't you think of getting one for Miku!" Miku turned from the mirror and pouted.

"Eh…! EH! That's…" Barzini was trying to reply, when the warning bell rang.

"That's…the first lesson warning bell…see ya!" I said, grabbing Kaito's and my backpack, and leaving Barzini and Miku half in half out of my room(?)

Xxx

"You're not going to make me wear that….thing… right?" Kaito asked me the moment we sat down.

"What thing!" Amy placed her elbows on my table and leaned in.

"Yea! What thing!" Aki echoed.

"Hmm…Barzini bought a meido costume the wrong size…" I said back.

Before either Aki or Amy could say anything however, our dear math teacher entered and barked at us to get back in our seats.

And so…after class…while shoving my math books in my bag, Amy suddenly grabbed my wrist and said, "Come on! Tell me about this meido thing!"

"Yea. This meido thing." Zhengyi pulled out a chair a sat next to me, Neru hovered behind trying not to look interested.

"There's nothing to talk about." Kaito insisted.

"Oh, come on…spill!" Aki nudged Kaito.

Kaito shook his head vehemently.

"Fine! I'll just ask Miku-neechan," Aki said, her eyes going out of focus.

Kaito shot me a pleading look, when just a second later Aki squealed loudly, "Barzini-sama bought Kaito-nii a meido costume!"

"Pu…ha…" Zhengyi started before bursting out in fits of laughter.

Kaito buried his face in his hands, while Neru said, "There's always the option of giving it to Nori…" she twirled her katana about her finger tips.

Kaito looked up, "That! Is the best idea I've heard all day!"

"Sounds more interesting than seeing Kaito in the costume so… what's the plan!" Amy whispered quickly, already switching into some covert operation mode.

Kaito thought for a while before saying, "I assume everyone here is going to help me?" Nods went around, looks like everyone wanted to see what happened next.

"Here's the plan…first we need to get Haru…" Kaito explained.

Xxx

Stepping into the canteen, Amy whispered beside me, "Target locked." I followed her gaze and found that she had identified Haru and Yuki sitting together with Marcia and Karen, and somehow Meiko was there with Hannah too.

The small group of us walked up to their table, and sat down.

Then I pointed to Meiko, Hannah and Yuki and said, "What in the world are those three doing?"

"Sake drinking competition" Karen said, sipping her tea.

Neru went over and poked Meiko. "How many bottles did they drink?" she ask curiously.

"We're currently on our fifth bottle…actually Hannah got up to two bottles and Meiko she's at the fifth with me," Yuki replied, raising his glass to the yellow hair vocaloid, he seemed perfectly sober, compared to the other two.

"He's always been good at holding his liquor," Marcia said, "so what brings you guys to our table?"

"Oh yes!" Aki quipped, "we have a proposal for Haru!"

Haru eyed the small vocaloid with the bold request, "Well, let's hear it then."

We explained the whole meido costume situation and then Kaito said, "…and so we need Haru's help…"

"So…correct me if I'm wrong…but you people…want me to help you get Nori in a meido costume so that Kaito over here doesn't have to wear it…and what I will gain out of this is that I get to take as many pictures or Nori in that meido costume so that I can use it for whatever purposes I wish…" he said in one breath, carefully considering each sentence.

We nodded in response.

"Hmm…" he was still thinking about it, it seemed.

"Ah…it's been a while Haru…" Yuki suddenly injected and swirled his sake in the bottle.

That sentence seem to settle it for Haru, as he said, "Very well, we'll help you but we do it my way…"

Kaito nodded and leaned in as Haru, explained his plan.

Xxx

Five minutes after the last bell, we, as in me, Kaito, Marcia, Haru and Yuki went into action to execute plan #356. If you're wondering why Karen wasn't involved that's because she said she preferred to be on the sidelines, just in case.

Finding Garcia and Nori outside the concert hall, Kaito and I hid behind the corner and watched as Marcia worked her persuasion skills.

"You! Have to come shopping with me!" Marcia said to Garcia as she pulled on her arm.

"But today I wanted to go for onigiri with Nori and…" Garcia protested, while her twin cut her off and said, "we haven't had our sister time ever since we had Nori and Haru, it's time we go out together…just us you know…"

From the tone and expression of Garcia's face, you could tell that she was wavering, a few more tugs from Marcia and her sister consented to the shopping trip, leading Garcia toward the general direction of the door, Marcia turned and gave us a subtle nod as she passed us.

Time for Kaito and I, to lock on to the main target, the unsuspecting Nori standing in the corridor.

"Hihi!" Nori greeted us cheerfully as we walked toward him.

"Hi! We're actually looking for the instrument room, we need to borrow the saxophone for our rehearsal later." Kaito opened smoothly, well technically we did have a rehearsal later but we didn't really need the instrument.

"I can show you the way I guess…" Nori offered, walking along side us.

We filled in the talk with idle banter, till we reached the room door.

"Um…could you help us find it? I don't expect we'd know where the things are…" I asked.

Nori nodded and opened the door and entered. Perfect prey? Yuki suddenly closed the door from the inside of the room and we heard a soft click, as Haru half sang eerily, "Noriii."

The closed door behind Kaito and I made our quick escape to the next corner.

From our hiding place, Kaito sat next to me as we started hearing sounds from the room.

"Garcia!" Nori managed, as he was pounced (?) on a second later by Haru, judging from the sound of someone crashing on the ground.

"Yuki-nii,help me!" Haru said, wrestling Nori to the ground?

"Maybe that was a little mean..."Kaito mumbled next to me. Oh? He finally had some conscience for what he did. I waited curiously over what he would say next. Then he continued, "but it was either him or me...so..." Haha, my dearest friend thought that it couldn't be helped, I finished his sentence silently in my head.

"Done! Done! Done!" Haru's triumphant voice.

"You look cuter than usual, Nori-chan," Yuki said playfully, then came a few shutter sounds, I guess if Kaito wasn't feeling bad for poor Nori then I was.

Pretending to 'save the day', Kaito and I started pounding on the door, and just as staged Haru and Yuki opened the doors of course. And what a sight, you'd have thought something really wrong happened in there and just didn't want to know about it, and Nori was half in half out of the meido costume and his own clothes were strewn every where, I leave you to imagine that state considering the room was still dark and all.

Nori, flushed a deep red, before gathering his wits and pushing the lot of us out and shutting the door firmly behind.

"Done deal…" Haru shook Kaito's hands, "we get to keep the maid costume right?"

"Sure thing," Kaito was only glad to get rid of that piece of garment.

"Mmm…and here's the sax you needed…" Yuki said, handing us the instrument.

Then I remembered, the rehearsal!

"Kaito! The first rehearsal started already! Hurry!" I grabbed his arm without warning, I waved bye to the two brothers before running off.

Xxx

"You're late!" Miku squealed out for the whole group to hear her voice coming from overhead, must be in the control room with Barzini, as Kaito and I tried and obviously failed to sneak in.

Standing up, I said in defence, "well…we had some stuff…to do… anyway so what are we doing now?" I ended hastily.

"This is a rehearsal and we are rehearsing…what else would we do?" Zhengyi shouted from the front.

"Baka! She meant what are we doing doing!" Neru retorted at his reply.

"Well we just started cause it took awhile for Meiko to get sober again…" Luka said while taping some markers on the stage.

Oh yea…I remember just this lunch she was having a sake drinking competition with Yuki, which explained why Hannah was also barely conscious in her chair.

"I'm here! So let's s-start," Meiko's voice drifted out from the backstage, still a little wobbly.

"…looks like I have to come up with a stronger formula…" I overheard Piko mumbling to himself.

"Finally...since Nicole has decided to grace us with her presence…we can start!" Barzini's voice floated from above, I squinted at the audio room in the back and saw that Mai was up there with him.

Nodding, I said, "Cue, the music in three…two…one…start!" I only had the time to read through the lyrics once so far, so how the lyrics would fit in will be interesting to see.

The intro started playing, then Meiko came out from stage left, two seconds later she started singing, and two seconds later I put up my hand and said, "stop stop!" the music played for another two seconds before it cut.

Hopping up on stage I pulled Meiko to the centre, "um…anyone knows how to operate the platform?"

"Yep…I'll get it…" Amoz said, getting out from his seat and going backstage.

While waiting I saw Aki talking to Rin for a while.

Seeing the platform on the stage descending, I called out to Barzini, "Spotlight here, thanks!" as light switched on and bathed the stage in a bright yellow before Barzini toned it down to a warm orange.

Then, his genius must have told him to turn on all the warm lighting possible in the hall as well, and soon the atmosphere I was aiming for was achieved.

"Okay! Cue the music again," I said, jumping down from the stage.

The song started, and the platform started rising from the stage at the same time.

"Good timing!" I called to Amoz.

Meiko appeared bit by bit as she held her pose, back facing the audience, then swaying her hips gently, she turned slowly and started to sing…

'Tsuyoi chikara… senaka osarete…'

Slowly, seductively, as if singing to the depths of your soul, she stretched out her hand and took smooth steps forward. Moving from the left to the right, Meiko's presence filled the whole stage and left no corner empty, the dance and the lyrics down to the voice, complemented each other perfectly.

At the chorus, she threw her hands out, and seemed to go all out for the audience again, going down and coming back up all in time and in rhythm and finally ending with her hand on her heart, the other hand up, as she slowly turned on her heel, and walked off.

"Lights!" I called, when nothing happened, all too stunned by the performance of our own, I guess. Then in a hurry the light's snapped off.

Meiko came back from the backstage and Piko handed her his brew of sake, taking a drink, Meiko said, "I think I need a chair…"

"Yea…I think that would be a good idea…" Len said.

"Kinda stereotypical for a jazz song…" Michelle said.

"Let's get one an-" SeeU started when Rin suddenly jumped up and said, "What? Len what?"

Uh oh, this couldn't be good.

"Aki just said that Len made eyes at Meiko during their group meeting…" Rin said.

Len's face turned white, uh huh, he really should have been careful, dear eleven year old Aki didn't quite know how to keep secrets yet.

"Rin…don't get mad…I…" Len started.

She was storming out of the hall when, Len used the best tactic (?) and said, "I'll treat you to a months worth of orange desserts…"

Rin halted mid-step as she turned around and said, "Really…?"

Len nodded, trying to show his sincerity, "Then make it two months…" Rin said.

I think he was thinking how he was going to fulfil this promise, as he nodded back silently.

Phew, glad that didn't blow up into something big, our attention was brought back to the matter at hand when Miku said, "…take two anyone!"

"Ah…yes yup yup…" I said back.

"Um…I managed to get a chair…" Haku said from my right, I didn't even notice when she ran off to get the chair.

"Good job! Thanks lots…" then I turned to Allen next to the white haired vocaloid, "any improvements to the costume design?"

Allen turned to look at Meiko again, his eyes giving a once over before concluding, "if she could dance in heels that would be best…the ballet flats don't really match…"

"Nicole-sama, he's right…" Kaito supported Allen's views.

"Okay…so then I'm charging the both of you to find the perfect pair of shoes for Meiko…"

"Eh…but…" Allen started.

"Use the online catalogue if you have problems…let's see the one you guys choose by the end of the rehearsal okay!" I waved them off and said.

Setting the foldable high stool that Haku found on the platform, Meiko took a seat on it.

"Meiko-san, sit like this…" Karina suggested and demoed from the side.

Copying the pose, I had to say it was very visually appealing. Meiko turned her body to the side, her legs pointing in the opposite direction a few inches off the ground, and her hands supporting herself on the chair, due to the colour of the chair, it made her look like she was sitting on air.

"We starting?" Barzini's voice boomed down.

"Yes, okay," I nodded, watching the platform with Meiko and the chair slowly descend for the start, "cue the music when the platform fully rises. And…"

"And spotlight on when it's halfway up," Karina added. I nodded back in approval.

"One…two …three…"

Platform rises, spotlight…music…so far so good.

"And turn!" Karina shouted from nowhere, as the music started, and Meiko's dance routine continued as per normal.

"Chair!" Zhengyi said, over the music.

"Rin! Help me with the ch-" Amoz shouted from the backstage.

"Help yourse-" Rin yelled back, she was busy tying Len's hair.

"Stop stop!" Meiko suddenly said, the music continued playing till she glared up at the audio room, "all you chibis, I'm still singing here, suggestions after I'm done!" she was slightly irritated by now.

The auditorium fell into silence, Meiko took a breath and said, "now one by one with the suggestions…" as expected from the oldest of the vocaloids here much more mature…when she's not drunk and all that…

"Well, the moment the music starts you should turn, as in like this…" Karina said hopping on the stage, starting with the pose then turning towards the left, one hand on the back of the chair, she turned one full circle, then looked up at us for opinions.

"But that means I'll be cutting out the intro…" Meiko said objectively.

"Perhaps we try once with Karina's suggestion?" Yukina said, Meiko nodded.

"We should get rid of the chair while you are dancing…" Zhengyi was next to say.

"Yes…that's a must…" Meiko said.

"That's why I said I need Ri-" Amoz cut in.

And Rin cut back saying, "Len can help you with that…you know how much I don't like to be by myself in the dar-…" then catching herself, she pushed Len in front, "anyway Len will help you…"

Karina was going to say something about Len being her vocaloid but Piko continued the discussion, "You will have to be cautious of the hole in the stage for 30 seconds though so I advise that you alter the routine slightly so you cover stage right while the chair is being retracted instead of dancing stage centre first." He finished in one breath.

"Time check!" Miku's voice squealed over the sound system.

"Twenty minutes before we are going to be chased out of the hall…" continued Mai's bored voice.

"Nya…then a final round with the suggestions!" SeeU hurriedly quipped.

Everything went smoothly for the last round, then as Meiko walked off, Barzini followed with the diming of the backlights.

"Well…that was good but we still need to decide the transition for the start…" I mentioned.

We still had mixed views over how the opening transitions from the pose to the dance.

"We'll still have one run just before we go on stage to perform right? So how about we settle it then?" Luka said.

Haku shyly put up her hand, "maybe Meiko-san could think of a way to incorporate both ideas?"

Amy clapped her hands together, "that's a great idea…no wait…how about Meiko-san you come up with a surprise for us on Friday!" There goes enthusiastic Amy.

"We have it!" Kaito's voice rang though the hall.

"Have what?" Neru asked.

"This!" Kaito held up a pair of heels, T-strapped designed in patented black, with artfully placed dark red jewels. Allen looked proud next to Kaito.

"Is that SHOES! I wanna SEE!" Miku's piecing voice sounded from the over head systems. Followed by a clatter, then a sharp ear-screeching sound, then somehow Barzini's voice, "Miku!" then silence, I guess Mai the only other person stuck in that room with those two shut off the mic.

Then suddenly, my vision was blocked by a whole wall of turquoise, and the pair of shoes Kaito was holding was whisked out of his hands.

"Ooo…Miku wants one!" Miku said, pointing one finger at Barzini's panting form.

Plucking the shoes from Miku's hands, Meiko said, "It's a little higher than what I'm used to…"

"Well, you have the whole week till Friday to practice then!" Michelle said.

Still looking sceptically, at the four inch high shoes, Meiko nodded.

"Ulggg…"

Haku gave a little scream as she moved closer Piko, while everyone else got a start, and even Rin turned to stand closer to Len and Amoz, I mean in a half lit auditorium, and with that kind of creepy sound, only Meiko was unfazed, calmly packing her new shoes away in the box.

I turned to look in the direction of the sound, and found Mai standing there, his face lit by the light coming off his PSP screen, somewhat crouched over a dead body?

Mai looked up momentarily, "what? I just poked her to see if she was still alive."

"Mmm…wha…" Hannah sat up groggily.

The group of us collectively let out a sigh, a bit of nervous laughter.

"Err…yea…okay…" I started awkwardly.

"That's a wrap!" Aki finished the line happily for me.

Xxx

After dinner, I was at the table pouring over a particular vectors question, when pounding sounds started coming from the hole beside me. Throwing open the cover, I said, "Yea?"

"So what did you do with the meido costume?" Barzini looked up and asked.

"Hmm…I don't know…" I said nonchalantly.

"Hehh…"

"Perhaps one day you'll find out…" I said vaguely.

The interesting thing was that during dinner, Kaito and I thought we were gonna be busted for the deal we had with Yuki and Haru, turns out poor Nori didn't suspect anything at all, he really did think it was by chance he got ambushed, just goes to show how much his brothers frequently did this to him.

"Where's Miku?" I said changing subject.

"She's taking a bath…"

"Ohh…cause you know I saw this cute meido costume online…and maybe I should get one for her…so you know…she can be cute and all blushing in front of you…" I couldn't resist teasing my dear friend.

"Wha-what!" he grabbed the nearest thing in his room and threw it up at me, catching the pork bun in one hand, I waved, "thanks for supper!"

"I heard something about a maid costume for Miku…?" Kaito walked over and peered down, was that a smirk I saw.

"Did someone say Miku and maid costume…!" Miku's voice floated through, as she appeared in the limited view space that I had, this was the first time I was seeing Miku without her twin tails after a bath.

"Miku-chan, would you like a meido costume?" Kaito asked kindly.

Miku nodded excitedly, quite oblivious to her master's reaction.

"So…if I buy one as thanks to the one Barzini bought you'd wear it?" I asked, playing along.

"Hai! Hai! Miku thinks Miku will look nice in one! Right Barzini!" she twirled happily.

"Uhh…" Barzini stoned.

"Great! So come over some day and I'll go through the online catalogue with you?" I asked the teal-haired vocaloid.

She nodded, her hair flying behind her.

"Well, then mata na Miku-chan!" I waved bye before, gently closing the cover and locking it.

The moment I locked it, Kaito burst into fit of laughter, catching on my started laughing along, "nice one!" he said to me.

"Any time my friend…" I said between laughs, remembering Barzini's expression.

What a turn around situation from this morning.

I wonder how tomorrow would go…

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>Arigatou for reading and being so patient! Sorry it took so long…again…gomenasai ! It's been uh…insanely busy…I'm having term tests now…and yea…well…Arigatou for reading again…imma study now…mata ne minna!<strong>


	21. Chapter 21

Time went by fast. With us managing to cram in one more rehearsal before the actual performance itself on Friday. However, our Mid-semester tests for our majors loomed, and I would be walking around with a history book in my hand, and Miku is glasses, intelligibly reading the latest gossip magazine.

On Friday itself, however, I went to the area an hour early, and sat inside the AV room, with Miku in the chair beside me, surfing her laptop.

"Barzini-sama, not revising?" Miku asked, and I shook my head. Not revising.

"I guess I am ready. Its history after all." I replied Miku and she gave a most Mikutery laugh, lifting herself off the seat and laughing.

"So confident, Barzini-sama! So confident!" Miku "hmphed" me and I rolled my eyes a little, giving a small grin.

"Barzini-sama, how would you feel if like one day, I became real?" Miku asked and I looked up from my iPhone.

"Why do you suddenly ask that?" I asked and stared at her screen. Miku had her own private blog apparently. It's so full of Japanese that I can barely read a few words.

"Just answer me!" Miku pouted and tried to push my face away from the computer, but unfortunately, it merely went through me.

"Eh... Be pretty cool and freaky at the same time I guess? I mean... You're not real. And then you're real. You know that feeling?" I said, gesturing at her from head to toe and she watched my hand, up and down.

"I dunno! Baka! Explain, explain, explain!" Miku pouted and stared at me, clenching her fists.

"Well, when things are not real, you expect them to stay that way right? Turning real would shock me. Like shock. It'll be weeks or months before I accept drastic changes." I said, and Miku nodded, pushing her glasses up like an intellectual such as myself.

"What is the difference from love and like?" Miku proceeded to ask, folding up her white coloured sleeves despite the fact that the AV room was well air-conditioned.

"I guess it's like... You can like a person, but that doesn't mean you love that person. Now for example, look at Jo Kwon and Ga In, from We Got Married. They like each other, that's why they can love one another. But liking doesn't mean love. I can like a person, but that doesn't mean I want to spend the rest of my life with the girl. Or like... My best friend, Amoz, I like him, but I'm definitely not gay." I explained, trying to phrase my words in coherent sentences but obviously failing to do so.

"I don't get it." Miku said and I flipped open my history book on President Hindenburg once more.

"Didn't expect you to." I frowned and rubbed my forehead, re-reading the chapter on the former German President's stand on justifying Germany's entrance into the First World War.

"Meh..."Miku stuck out her tongue and continued typing into the laptop of hers, while I continued reading, gingerly waiting for the audience to file in, along with the rest of the group.

Xxx

"Begin, on time, own target." SOUL's voice sounded through the auditorium and I sat up, peering out through the window and I saw Hannah give me the thumbs-up.

Hitting the play button with the CD, the saxophone started off slow, then quickly, it escalated, and the stage rose, revealing Sakine Meiko on it, her eyes closed and her hands poised in a graceful dancer's position.

Then as the beats came in, Meiko swung her arms side to side with ease, then linked her hands together and gave a mature hip shake with a wink, prompting much wolf whistles, laughter and applause from the audience.

"Tsuyoi chikara... Senaka Osarete...Gururu mawaru... Keshiki ga..." She sang, turning on the spot, and as the song progressed, Meiko's grin widened slightly, and as she hit the chorus, she had a hand over her heart, then forcefully gestured out at the audience.

"Freeze!"

"Michi no basho ni tada hitori!" She sang, her eyes widening significantly, her legs tapping and moving on the floor, then walking forward elegantly like a model-

"Shikata nai ne! Sukoshi..." Meiko continued to speak, a sentence of song, shaking her hips, bending down and making provocative moves still thankfully within the Parental Guidance code of conduct.

"Miku... If only you were like this." I joked and Miku gave a cocky, "HMPH!"

Soon, nearing the repeat of the chorus, some of the audience joined in-

"FREEZE!"

However, my joy of watching was short-lived as there was a knock on the door and I opened it, and I was amused to see who it was.

"Yoohyun! What are you doing here!" I gasped, trying to keep an eye on the stage, the music player and then my friend Yoohyun here.

Yoohyun had entered SM Entertainment a year earlier, having given up an institution of higher education to pursue her dream as a singer from the Korean-based SM Entertainment which debuted many groups such as SNSD (Girls Generation), Super Junior and TVXQ (DBSK).

"They told me you were here! How have you been?" Yoohyun said, her hair now a dark brown instead of black, and her already big eyes even larger with eyeliner, incredibly beautiful.

"Aren't you in Korea? I wasn't expecting you till-" I said, and Miku cut in.

"Who is she, Barzini-sama?" She asked, and I quickly lifted a finger to wipe the tear from my right ear. I was elated to meet my former crush.

"This is Yoohyun! We had a crush on each other and we knew, but we were both too cowardly to-" I started, and Yoohyun raised her fist and I cowered. Just like old times.

"No need to go into details! Hey, you really got yourself a robot girlfriend? That desperate?" Yoohyun winked and that term robot got into me.

"Hologram, Yoohyun!" I said and quickly turned my attention to the stage again, where Meiko had hit the last bit of the choreography, a last blast from the saxophone, and Meiko vanished, replaced by a rose that slowly dropped to the floor, followed by rapturous applause.

"We need to take a bow!" I freaked and dashed from the AV Room, grabbing Yoohyun with me, my mind a blank, and as we all went on stage, she appeared natural and took a bow with all of us.

"Wait the count is off. Who is that girl?" SOUL's voice boomed through the auditorium, and Nicole pointed accusingly at me.

"Wha wha! What forever alone!" Nicole said, and Kaito gasped.

"So pretty!" SeeU said, and Yoohyun covered part of her face with her hand shyly and bowed.

"Its... My friend. She came to visit me from SM Entertainment." I took the microphone and kindly explained, and the crowd wowed.

"WOW. That means she can sing!" SOUL cheered and she gave a small shy giggle, hiding behind me.

"Duet! Duet! Duet!" Some bast- person from the crowd cried out and everyone cheered.

"Duet or fifteen marks will be deducted." SOUL said, and I covered my mouth this time, one, I couldn't sing. Yet, I have to also.

"I want to duet with Barzini-sama instead!" Miku protested but everyone else drowned her out, making her pout and cling tightly onto Luka's hand.

"Let's do it Barzini... Like last time." Yoohyun smiled and accepted another microphone, and being able to sing with my former crush... It's...

"Wae naman... Naegeollo... Motaneunji~ Ibyeorui sangcheoro apeunji!" I sang, and I could hear SeeU gasp, and her frantic translation to Miku.

_Why was I the only one who didn't know... How painful the scars of separation are?_

"Miku... Let's go backstage." Luka said and I turned around slightly to see Luka, Mai and Miku walking away.

What- What was wrong?

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>Hello all! This rather short chapter came amidst an extremely busy time for me, in between projects of great importance and my commitment to my school's taekwondo team.<strong>

**As you may or may not see, I will be rapidly progressing the story plot from here on out to compensate for our slow updating with more... Thought invoking plots.**

**Maybe you all have guessed the plot. Maybe not. **

**Now, I would like to wish Yoohyun, my friend in SM Entertainment, the utmost best of luck in her future endeavours in the company.**

**Yoohyun! I will be looking forward to your debut!**

**And thank you all for reading!**


	22. Chapter 22

I eased my hair into the last loop of my hair tie, running my fingers through my hair to shake out the knots in my ponytail, for the first time in what seemed like a long time I was going to go on a run on my own. And talking about knots, the situation we were in seemed just that...a bunch of tangles.

Things didn't end too well last night, Miku couldn't sleep halfway and climbed up to my room for the night, I only sleepily pulled out the extra bed for her and listened as she cried herself to sleep...what could I do, I didn't know... I did leave Kaito with Miku though, just in case anything happened in the morning as I went for my run...

Starting at a moderate pace, I recounted in my head what happened just less than 24 hours ago...

You see, the moment, Barzini ended his duet with Yoohyun, everything in our group was utter chaos; everyone seemed to enjoy the duet...congratulations went around. Our group, well, was mostly caught up with Yoohyun too. And Barzini, I didn't blame him, he needed to play host to Yoohyun for the rest of the night(and for the next four days she was staying), as per SOUL's orders, though he seemed ready to do just that without any persuasion.

Of course, I was curious about Yoohyun too, and I moved towards the crowd that was gathering around her, but then Kaito tugged my hand, and shook his head.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Miku...I don't think it went well with her..." he replied, eyes full of concern, I stared for a while before suddenly comprehending. I guess he was more sensitive towards others...

Turning my back on the party, I exited the hall with Kaito, noting that Luka and Mai were not present either.

"Luka's room?" I questioned out loud, Kaito nodded and we moved to Luka's floor, in silence, both tense as to what we would find there.

Knocking softly on Mai's room, the door swung open almost immediately.

"Good thing you guys are here," Mai said to us, "I think Luka is almost at a lost too..."

Almost nothing he said registered as I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind, "you're off your PSP!"

"Yes yes...how can I still be playing when I have a girl switching from anger to sadness almost spontaneously in my room," he explained, "now come in..."

We shuffled in, and Luka looked up as we entered, but Miku didn't seem to even notice, Mai lingered at the doorway as if unsure if to step in or not.

Luka moved over a little, as Kaito and I sat next to her, "Miku..." I brushed her hair from her face.

"Nicole-s-sama..." Miku took shaky breath.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" I asked, I was never really good at this sort of comforting stuff.

"Why do I feel like...like...I want to hit something..." she questioned.

"It's called anger Miku-chan," I identified for her, ignoring a diva was not a good idea.

"Then why does it hurt?" she asked, her teary eyes searching my face for answers.

I sighed, where was I supposed to go with this, I mean, I'm sure Miku knew, deep down that she liked Barzini.

"That's because you like Barzini-sama you baka! So you're jealous," Kaito said simply.

"W-who are you calling Baka! Bakaito!" Miku retorted, in a wavering voice, her diva attitude back.

The room fell into silence, as I watched Miku, wipe her tears with her sleeve before playing with the edge of her skirt. Ah ... Yes definitely seeing the mood swings.

Luka hugged Miku, "You okay now Miku-chan?"

"I-I think so..." the twin tailed girl replied. I couldn't help but shake the nagging feeling that it wasn't alright yet.

"Ne! Miku-chan! Wanna get the meido costume we talked about from last time? Then you can surprise Barzini when he comes back," I suggested, changing topics.

Miku's face lit up, yes...shopping a girl's best friend...

"Ikimashou?(Shall we go)" I offered my hand.

Miku nodded and followed Kaito and I back to my room, leaving a grateful Luka and Mai behind.

Xxx

"…this one!" Miku squealed, picking out probably the one with the most frills and ruffles you could fit on a maid costume.

"Mhm…okey!" I nodded in approval, trying to keep her mood up. Pressing the checkout button, I patted Miku softly on the head.

"You have to go back to Barzini now okay," I said, as best as I could to Miku, then I hurriedly added, "but, if you have any problems, you can always come up okay, Miku-chan."

Miku nodded, and said softly, "Arigatou, Nicole-sama," before she disappeared down the hole separating her room and ours.

"Do you really think it's a good idea sending Miku back…" Kaito mumbled from where he was sprawled out on his floor's carpet. The wrappers of sweets all around him, as he tried to keep awake at this late hour of a little after 12 midnight, refusing to sleep any earlier than me.

I padded over, lying down and staring at his ceiling, "what am I supposed to do? She has to go back to him someday."

"True, true…" he replied me wearily.

"When tomorrow comes, we can think better, for now go to sleep first okay, oyasumi~" I looked over at my tired vocaloid, as I walked out of his room and off the lights.

"Oyasumi~" he said back.

Xxx

And so back to today, I was making my final round of my 3km run, slowing down I took a short walk back to my room, checking my watch it was 7 in the morning, entering my room, I glanced over to see that Miku and Kaito were still sleeping. Heading for the shower, I washed up, and changed. Thankfully today was a weekend, so I was thinking to nap more…Or not…as that thought was banished the moment I was greeted my Miku's red eyes and puffy face when I made my way into my room.

"What happened last night?" I sat at the edge of my bed and questioned.

"Yoohyun is sleeping with Barzini…" Miku pouted half-heartedly, fiddling with the edge of her pajama.

"He WHAT?!" Kaito shouted, his hair tousled from his sleep, but now he was wide awake.

I guess I wanted to shout first but Kaito beat me to it, Miku on the other hand didn't even flinch at the volume of Kaito's voice.

"In the same room…on a bed like this!" she jabbed my extra bed. And...she was back to being angry, actually the way it went it was almost comical...okay maybe it wasn't...anyway...

I let out a breath, "so Yoohyun was sleeping on the extra bed." I could see Kaito visibly relax too, Miku was like a sister to him, and if Barzini was going to hurt her so far, I guess he wasn't going to take too kindly to that.

"He never lets me do that!" she said loudly, then softening again.

"What does that mean Nicole-sama?" Miku asked me, plucking at the edge of the pillow.

"Yoohyun probably just needed some place to sleep for the night," I sighed, "I'll go talk to him..."

But apparently, Kaito was more eager for an explanation, and was banging down the cover on Barzini's side.

"Okay, Stop," I said quietly, grabbing Kaito's wrist in mid-air, my mind faintly registering that my fingers didn't sink right through his wrist.

"Why!" he almost shouted.

I glanced over at Miku, who hadn't moved and was just staring into space quietly, seriously what was Barzini thinking, Miku needed His attention, and he should know that by now.

"Will being angry help?" I asked my blue haired friend, "and no matter what...Yoohyun is a guest, and its 8am in the morning..."

"But Miku..." he said helplessly.

I was about to reply, when a knock came. Opening the door, I saw Luka and Mai.

"Hihi~I brought some leek soup for Miku. I heard you had a hole that drops into Barzini's place, so I thought I'd come over to your place first," Luka said in one breath, while Mai nodded at appropriate places.

"Luka-san, that won't be necessary," Kaito said bluntly, "Miku-chan is in Nicole-sama's room."

Both their blank faces stared back at us. I sighed and said, "Why don't you two come in first."

Sitting both of them down, Kaito and I gave them a run though of all that had happened from last night till now.

Luka and I went to check on Miku while Kaito and Mai talked about what to do next.

"Miku," Luka started, "I brought your favorite leek soup."

"Later," Miku mumbled, hiding under the sheets.

Luka looked to me for help, I pulled the sheets from Miku's head, "Miku-chan, if you don't eat, you won't have the energy to go play with Barzini right? Luka can do your hair for you if you wake up too, and we can do the big waves in your hair that you always wanted remember?" I tried to say that as coaxingly as possible, as Miku sat up.

I nodded to Luka as she steered Miku towards my bathroom, thankfully Luka was older and probably knew what to do.

Kaito stood as I walked into the room, "Can we go see Barzini now!" he demanded, not even bothering with the -san he would normally add at the back.

Mai looked ready to go to get some answers too, with two guys like that, who was I to stop them.

"Okay okay, you two use the door," I pointed them out.

Hearing water running in the bath, I sank down into my beanbag near the hole, munching on strawberries for breakfast, I was about to doze. When light tapping, came through the floor.

Lazily flipping open the catch, I lay on my front and peered down... straight down into Yoohyun's face.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed, almost falling off.

"Hey there! I'm Yoohyun!" she poked a hand up as best as she could balancing on the ladder.

"Nicole," I replied sticking my hand down to shake hers.

"Hehhh...so this is your room," she asked.

"Yup," I nodded, moving a little so she could peer up.

"I see...nice place! I was just wondering...I didn't see that hologram from yesterday," she amused out loud.

"Miku..." I said instinctively corrected, I didn't exactly think Kaito as a hologram anymore.

"Ah yea, Miku...chan?" she said tentatively.

"Yup, that's what we usually call her," I answered, "as for the where she is part..."

A loud bang caused Yoohyun to turn towards Barzini's door as I tried to look and see what was happening.

"Oi Oi! Who's room do you think you are busting into at this hour!" Barzini's voice floated up.

Yoohyun's confused expression led me to say, "It's probably my vocaloid...and Mai."

"Ahh...The one with the scarf?..."

I scowled for two seconds, before replying , "Barzini told you to call him bakaito huh...his name is Kaito...I don't think you met Mai, but his vocaloid is Luka." I decided to add on.

She laughed and said, "I see I see, okay!"

"You'd better go see what's going on." I told her.

She nodded and waved goodbye and I closed the cover, shutting out the racket down stairs too.

"Nicole-san~what do you think?" Luka sang as she twirled Miku around.

Miku was dressed in a Luka pink pinafore like dress with detached sleeves, and Miku's long hair was tied up in the usual twin tails, only they were curlier than normal, her usual hair ties were traded for pink ones with small flowers attached, Miku looked a little happier with new clothes.

"It looks cute!" I said approvingly.

"Do you think Barzini will like it?" Miku asked, turning to look at the mirror.

Her heart, like all our vocaloids was always fixed on their masters, "Mhm, looking so cute, I'm sure he can't resist." I nodded and answered.

"Great! Then I shall go find Barzini-sama now~" she said, noticeably happier. What a sudden mood change, must be something in the leek soup maybe?

"Wa-" I started but she was out the door already, "the boys went down to settle something's with Barzini..." I explained to Luka who was left with me.

"Then let's go..." Luka said calmly, pointing toward the hole in my floor.

"Okay okay," I muttered, things were progressing too fast for me sometimes.

Xxx

And so we were...well...sliding down the fireman's pole...whee...ah haha, okay lame joke, but really that's how it always feels.

The moment my feet touched the floor, I was just met with awkward silence, accessing the situation; it seemed that Miku had just stepped in.

"Miku-chan, kawaii," Yoohyun started, "how did she grow her hair so long?"

"Um...she's designed that way..." Barzini explained.

"Heh! So you really got yourself a hologram girlfriend," Yoohyun nudged Barzini, "she dressed up so nicely for you too..."

I could see Kaito tense for a while when Miku walked over and said, "Barzini-sama, are we going out today?"

"Mhm...you have to take Miku out, she dressed up for you, you know," Luka said from behind me, crossing her arms, almost daring Barzini to say no.

"But today, I was going to catch up with Yoohyun," Barzini argued, "I haven't seen her in ages!"

"Bring her along then~I don't mind," Yoohyun said.

And so that was supposedly settled...

...or...so we thought...cue in the dramatic music...actually we just went back to our rooms after Barzini, Yoohyun and Miku left on their ...date?

Xxx

"You think Miku will be alright?" Kaito asked again, for the hundredth or so time.

"Yes, we'll know when she comes back, now eat your aisu it's melting," I replied for the hundredth time as well, this was the first time he was letting ice cream melt in front of him.

"So, what did you tell Barzini?" I picked the cherry off my tower of ice cream. I was curious no matter what.

"Oh, I just said that if he made Miku upset again I'll punch him." he said that with such a straight face, that I just laughed.

"He won't be able to feel it that much though, since, well, your fist will just go straight through him." I said, my laughter dying off when I saw he still had his still serious face on.

"You really would punch him huh...even if you had to turn real to make sure it hurts," I said peering into his blue eyes.

He nodded stiffly, then smiled, "ho, Nicole-sama was so scary when she said that."

"Hmph."

"You gonna eat your aisu, it's a sin to let it all melt away you know." he teased.

"Puuu...just who was letting it melt away two minutes ago!" I retorted.

And so to put it simply, the rest of the day passed rather peacefully, until the night...

Xxx

"Wanna hear a ghost story?" Amy asked excitedly, bouncing on my bed. She had come to say 'hi' when she found Miku wasn't in, and my quiet anime marathon night ended with this...

"Yep, sure," I didn't like horror, but looking at this girl, how scary could she get yes?

As Amy began her story, "Once on a very very cold dark night..."

Aki went to turn off my rooms light, and switched on a torchlight instead, they were trying to up the creep factor.

As the story continued, Kaito moved closer and closer to me.

"...and there, standing in front of her mirror, was the other..." Amy went, swinging the torchlight around, Aki squealed a little.

Kaito buried his face in my arm.

I poked him, and whispered, "You're not actually scared are you."

"N-no..."

So much for the macho talk this afternoon.

"...she stood at the mirror and cocked her head to one side...and asked..." Amy's voice dropped even lower.

"Okay!" Kaito suddenly said loudly, jumping up and switching the lights back on, "Stop! Stop!"

"What?" Amy asked curiously, Aki tilted her head to the side.

"Nicole-sama needs to sleep!" he said importantly.

My mouth opened.

"Right, Nicole-sama!" Kaito desperately added.

"O-Ohh...right right," I played along, "it's late you guys better go too yes..." I said, as Kaito ushered them along.

"But! We can continue tomorrow?" Amy said.

"Yea, there's always tomorrow~" I said, just as the doors closed.

"You were totally scared!" I blurted.

"I was not!" Kaito said in defense, throwing a pillow.

"Oh, this is how you want to play it?" I picked up a bolster and threw it at him.

Just like that a two people pillow fight started, messing up my whole room. And within a few minutes, we collapsed on my room floor.

"Wanna sleep there tonight?" I pointed to the extra bed, remembering what Miku said.

"You sure Nicole-sama?"

"Yup," I said, and continued the sentence in my head, it's not like you didn't already crash my bed the first day you stayed with me.

Xxx

And so...the peaceful night...only to be woken up by some shuffling noises coming from the small living room.

Ignoring it at first, I drifted off to sleep once again, when I heard it, something was definitely out there, opening a bleary eye, 2:39am, too early...deciding to investigate.

I abandoned my soft warm duvet, and walked sleepily out of the room.

And there it was, in the moonlight, a girl in front of my mirror. A girl who just tilted her head in front of my mirror! My mind snapped back to that horror story, oh crap, this...and I don't even know the ending of the story!

Hurrying back to my room, I went to wake up my more-scared-than-me-with-horror-stories vocaloid, "Wha-" he mumbled half wake.

Pulling him by the hand, I was determined to confront that...person, in front of my mirror.

"Is...That..." Kaito opened his eyes wide, ah he was freaking out, and fumbling along the wall he finally found the light switch and flicking on the lights.

We jumped a bit and instantly recognized that it was no ghost.

"Miku! What are you doing?" I exclaimed, slightly shocked, at the sight of her dressed in Meiko's costume for our latest music project, the whole thing was slipping off her as it is, one wonder it looked so floaty and ghost like with the lights off.

"Do I look nice, Nicole-sama?" she asked in a dreamy like voice, her eyes glazing over.

What was I to do?

Miku turned towards me from my mirror, "Barizini-sama, said that if only I could be more like Meiko..." she said in a sad broken voice.

"Huh?" I said blankly. Barzini liked that type?

"Miku-chan," Kaito said from behind me, "come sit down for a while first okay." he said guiding her to my bean bag on the floor. He seemed to be more cut out for this, I was glad that at least he could touch her, and give her some comfort that I couldn't.

Talking out a mug, he proceeded to make some hot chocolate for her, placing the mug carefully in her hands. "You just drink this slowly first okay." he told Miku his face and expression of concern.

Then he took my hand and we proceeded into the next room, "This is not good Nicole-sama, Miku's presence if getting fainter."

"I get that she doesn't seem mentally around, but you make it sound like..."

"Like she's disappearing...well actually it's not too far from that." he mumbled.

"What do you mean?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. If he knew something he better be spiting it out right now.

"Remember when I told you that we could sense, the presence of other vocaloids," he started, his tone one of seriousness, which was rare coming form my vocaloid.

I nodded, remembering the last time he told me about Miku's existence disappearing,

He continued, fiddling with the edge of his scarf, "well, what I'm feeling from Miku, is similar to the last time, it's like she's fading, I only hope she can hold on till, Barzini-sama can spend more time with her. Our master's attention is the most important thing to us you know, and what's more she's Miku," he said, directly looking at me.

"I know," I nodded, then continuing, "According to Barzini, Yoohyun is going to be around for four days, so that means till Tuesday." I calculated.

Walking back into the other room, Miku hadn't touched her hot chocolate at all.

"Barzini…doesn't like me anymore…" she stared down at the cup.

"Why wouldn't he like you, you're cute, you're pretty, and you can sing so well," Kaito said softly.

"And, if Barzini didn't like you he wouldn't stand being in the same room as you, and is he chasing you out of his room?" I added.

Miku shook her head, "But Yoohyun, was Barzini's former crush, how could I be better than her?"

"She's WHAT?!" Kaito exclaimed, Miku was dropping bomb shells on us when we were least expecting it.

"You know just because they liked each other doesn't mean he doesn't like you anymore," I reasoned to Miku, I knew I was fighting a losing battle though.

"Then why does Barzini ignore me," Miku questioned, her cup was shaking a little, "he only talked to Miku three sentences today."

Kaito looked like he was really going to make Barzini pay, I really didn't like that scary face he had on now.

"Barzini-sama says that I can stay in the room tomorrow, he wants to go out with Yoohyun alone," Miku said it so sadly, so resigned, nothing like the bubbly, diva that we all knew. All the anger had left her and all that was left was hurt.

"Miku-chan!" my door banged, and nearly hit my face when I went to open it, Luka rushed into my room, "she's still here…" she sighed, almost in relief, hugging Miku.

"It's 3am…" Mai trudged in, dragging his feet. Obviously unceremoniously woken up by Luka.

"Luka…" Miku said in acknowledgement, the two of them in such close proximity, I could see that Luka was indeed more solid looking than Miku.

"I just needed to make sure you're still okay," Luka reassured herself.

"Luka…" Mai said sleepily, "now can we go back."

"Okay…but we're coming back here again tomorrow…" Luka said reluctantly, but she didn't want Mai to suffer on her behalf either.

As Luka left as suddenly as she had come, I asked tiredly, "They are all not going to come one by one are they?"

"Probably not, unless they were paying attention to Miku," Kaito said.

I nodded, "Mkay." I really didn't want every single vocaloid living on my floor to drag their poor masters to my room.

Then I turned to Miku and said, "Miku-chan, you have to drink your choco if not it's gonna go cold."

Miku nodded stiffly, finally taking a sip out of the mug.

I checked the time, 3:30 in the morning, picking up my mobile, I dialed Barzini's number.

"…hello…" his sleepy voice came over the phone.

"Can you come pick Miku up?" I said back, equally unawake.

"…mmm…isn't she in her room…" he said back.

"No…she's in mine."

"I'll come get her… Tell her to hang on…"

"Nevermind, about tomorrow…"

"Yea, could you take care of Miku for me?" he mumbled out.

"You really just want to spend time with Yoohyun tomorrow, what about Miku's feelings?" I said.

"Can you just explain to her, that it's only for a few days," he said back.

"We'll talk tomorrow, I can't think straight now," I sighed.

And with that he hung up the phone.

"Miku's staying the night," I said to Kaito.

"Okay," he grabbed his ice cream shaped pillow from my extra bed.

"Gomen ne," I said to my vocaloid.

"It's okay Nicole-sama," Kaito said, smiling a little, as he went back to his own room.

Miku just slept as her head touched the pillow.

I sighed, so many things, I know Kaito was disappointed about today, but then we still had Miku, and Yoohyun she was a guest, it wasn't fair to get her involved, and there was still exams! Just how was I going to explain to Miku about tomorrow? And Barzini, if we get through this…he so owes me one…

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>22th chapter~…actually I should have commemorated the 20th one but anyway~<strong>

**Arigatou for reading minna~**

**Even though exams are over, I'm still busy, it's so ridiculous…maybe even more busy than the exam period itself….O-O (is that even possible?)**

**Ja mata na minna~**

**Barzini – THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ALMOST COMPLETELY MEAN POTRAYAL OF ME. But if it advances the story, why not?**


	23. Chapter 23

Hannah´s POV-

I was quite thankful that I actually woke up in my bed for once, not in another abnormal passing-out location... like the stupid bathroom. I turned over in my bed just to be faced with at least a dozen shot glasses, but no Meiko in the bed next to me. I sighed and wondered where she'd ended up this time. Last time, she was found sleeping rather peacefully in the wardrobe.

"Meiko?" I called, wincing at the sharp pain that shot through my head. Fifth hangover in five days... new record. I was answered by a grumble of incoherent cursing that seemed to trail from...

I looked under the bed and nearly fell out in shock as Meiko's bloodshot red-brown eyes glared at me. "How many last night?" she mumbled, crawling out from underneath and hauling herself up next to me, hand lying on top of my head, like a way a mother pets her child.

Y'know, we may be alcoholics, but we're actually pretty close. "I'd say at least twelve each," I groaned, gesturing to the glasses on my table. "Whassa time?"

"Nearly noon. I'd say we were up until at least three, if that's the time now."

I moaned and rolled off of the bed, ignoring the loud thump my body made when I hit the floor. I dragged myself across to the wardrobe and grabbed myself some jeans and a hoodie, telling Meiko to go get herself cleaned up while I got changed.

She did so, but she wasn't too happy about it.

While I was changing, I couldn't help but notice how... _quiet _it was. A wave of anger swept over me as I thought of the possibility of everyone going out and leaving us behind. "Meiko, they haven't gone out without us, have they?" I shouted to the bathroom door.

"I'll kill them if they have," came the slurred reply. I think she was drinking again. I sighed resentfully. Wonderful. Being left behind.

"We might as well go and find them, if they haven't," I suggested as she emerged from the bathroom clutching a bottle of sake. Vocaloid version, of course. "Did you brush your teeth, at least?"

She nodded. I knew her enough to know that she wasn't lying. "Let's go, then."

We left the room (quite messily, actually - the shot glasses were still in evidence to our misdemeanours) and stumbled down the hall, Meiko sloppily swigging more sake.

"Barzini? Miku?" I called. "Nicole? Kaito? Rin?" I was starting to shout as I became more desperate for a reply.

Meiko froze next to me, and pulled me backwards when I didn't notice her stopping. "Shut up a minute. Can you hear that?" she inclined her head to the door next to us. Barzini's room. "Shouting. But..." she frowned. "It sounds like..."

Being the nosy girls we are, we pressed our ears against the door and strained to listen to the - conversation? Argument? - that was going on inside. I had to stop myself from gasping.

"That's Kaito..." I trailed off. Carefree, naive Kaito, was yelling at Barzini? What on earth was going on?

"Let's listen before we get involved," Meiko told me firmly, any sign of drunkeness cleared clean away. I stared at her in shock. This was probably the most serious I had seen her since 'Change Me'. Kaito's voice echoed out to me.

"Obviously you don't care about Miku-chan at all, otherwise you wouldn't be neglecting her like this! All you care about is that singer, and you've completely forgotten about Miku-chan!"

Barzini interrupted, and I almost shouted out in shock, because my calm, collected friend who had been trying for years to get me off of alcohol was shouting as well?!

I glanced at Meiko, and blanched when I saw all the colour drain from her face at the mention of Miku. Even though Miku had usurped Meiko's position - we had talked about this too, I was honestly curious - Meiko cared for Miku like a daughter. What had been happening?

"Meiko, I can't stand this," I whispered. She made the 'ssh' gesture so we could listen to Barzini's counter-argument.

"Kaito, I understand your feelings, but you are utterly wrong! I _do _care for Miku, but _you _have to understand that Yoohyun is very special to me, and of course I'm going to want to spend a lot of time with her! I'm sorry that it seems like I've been neglecting Miku, but honestly, I haven't meant to hurt anyone! How often do you see a foreign friend? So what. I can't spend a few days with Yoohyun when I will be spending probably decades with Miku?"

"You just… Just can't!" Kaito shouted.

"Look… Kaito. I appreciate your concern. But in a way, this is family business and I do not appreciate outsiders barging in. Please leave." Barzini said, his tone suddenly a lot softer and kinder.

"You don't care about Miku, you son of a…!" Kaito started but Barzini's yell cut him off.

"You have overstayed your hospitality here! Get out!"

I faltered. "B-Barzini..." Meiko stared at me, as if she couldn't believe it. "We need to get in there, now!" I whispered furiously. She nodded. For the first time in my life, Barzini was arguing. And I had never heard that kind of tone before.

I quickly tried the door knob, and for the first time, Barzini's room was not locked.

Probably due to the surprise guest.

I looked up just in time to see Kaito scream in fury and launch a punch at Barzini's face. I watched in horror as Barzini's taekwondo instinct kicked in, side stepping and aiming a slam kick straight back, and bringing his bare foot down onto Kaito's face, then nose.

Knowing the usual result, I waited for the crack of Kaito's nose, but nothing came. Barzini's anger probably made him a lot hastier in bringing his foot to greet Kaito.

However, Kaito did fall to the floor, almost sobbing with pain, and Barzini stood over him, his fists clenched and almost preparing to lunge at him to pummel him.

Something in my mind clicked at that moment.

"STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU!" I screamed at them, leaping up and rushing over, placing a hand on Kaito's shoulder and tugging him out of the way. "YOU'RE BOTH ACTING LIKE A PAIR OF - OH MY GOOD GOD!"

I shrieked and stumbled backwards as I realised that Kaito was _solid. _Solid flesh. "Kaito, what the hell has happened to you? You're solid! SOLID!"

I was nearly hysterical as Meiko (somewhat) placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, staring at Kaito sadly. "So it's true, huh..." she murmured. Kaito nodded, eyes downcast.

I noticed it was a private conversation between the two counterparts, so I kept quiet, but inside I was still screaming. What had brought this madness on?

"Barzini...what..." I mumbled, lost for words, I don't think there had ever been a day where I was so quiet.

Barzini stared at the two of us before relaxing his tensed up shoulders and unclenched his fists.

He seemed distant. "Can...everyone just...leave...please? I need to think...ah… Please leave." He sat down on the bed, staring into the distance.

Meiko gestured for me to leave. Kaito had already stalked off, and I think he was back to his holographic self. I half-stumbled, half-dragged myself back to the room, Meiko still having her hologram-hand on my shoulder.

It was cold. Why... was I so cold?

Meiko had to use her own card to let ourselves back in, because my hand was shaking so much. Never in my life had I been so overwhelmed by events.

I threw myself onto the bed and laid down, quivering. "W-what just happened? I gasped, unable to believe any of it.

Meiko sat beside me, leaning on my back. "What just happened was that Kaito's human emotions overwhelmed the fact that he's a computer, and since that overrode the system, somewhat, he became a solid human. Our creators warned us about it, but I don't think anyone believed them. I, for one, thought it was absolutely ridiculous. I just think they didn't want us to have true relationships with humans, but that's just me." I couldn't help but notice how bitter she sounded.

"You don't think Kaito and Nicole, or even Miku...?" I faltered.

Meiko obviously forced a smile. "Of course not. We were literally made for each other, right? Of course..."

I bit my lip. "Meiko, you know as well as I do that it doesn't work that way in our world... it sucks, but it just doesn't.

Meiko was silent, and I immediately felt horrible. "Meiko, I'm sorry... I didn't mean it like that..."

"It's fine," she said hastily. "I was thinking about something else."

We lay there in silence for a minute, before I broke it, hesitantly. "Y'know, I don't think Kaito had much right just to go in there and start yelling like that... I mean, he didn't have much evidence..."

Meiko shot up then, and glared at me. It frightened me how much hate there was blazing in her eyes. They seemed redder than ever. "No evidence?! Hannah, don't give me that! You've seen how Barzini's been fawning all over that Yoohyun girl and completely forgetting about Miku! Miku _adores _Barzini, and he's just abandoned her for a pathetic human girl who can't sing half as well as all of the Vocaloids released after me!"

I was completely taken aback. Barzini was one of my best - and only - friends, and I couldn't even stand up for him now? "Yoohyun's special to him... you heard him!" Fury that matched Meiko's suddenly took over me, and I threw myself off the bed to confront my own Vocaloid counterpart.

"Barzini can be stupid, yes, we all can be, but he cares too much for people! He hasn't seen Yoohyun in years! He's spent God knows how much time with Miku and he's not allowed time with anyone else anymore?! Maybe he hasn't been talking to Miku as much lately, but he's hardly talked to _any _of us! What about us, Meiko? We're _isolated_! We're complete loners because we drown ourselves in alcohol, and everyone hates it! Goddammit, no one cares for us anymore! And who is the one trying to get us out of our addiction? Not Miku definitely!" I screamed at her.

Out of nowhere, a look of extreme calm passed over Meiko's face, and it unnerved me. She walked past me idly, and opened the door. She paused, and turned to face me. Her face was stone cold.

"I've got stuff to do... And by the way..." she stopped. I was breathing heavily, ripping out in rags. I hadn't noticed I was clutching a photo of us until it dug into my skin, leaving marks. Her next comment might as well have been the death of me.

"I hated you almost as soon as I laid eyes on you." she told me flatly, coldly...ruthlessly.

The photo and it's glass frame fell from my grasp at the same time Meiko slammed the door shut behind her. In turn, I fell to my knees amongst the shattered glass. The photo was ripped in half, one half with her face on and the other mine, ironically. Down the hall, I could hear Meiko screaming at Barzini with God knows how many curses and insults, and what about I don't know.

Shaking, I tried to piece the photo back together, but failed.

I ripped and ripped my half of the photo. Again. Again. Threw the shreds across the room. They fluttered nimbly... like the song.

"H-Hirari, hirari... h-h-hirari..." I gulped as I watched them flutter to the floor. I clutched Meiko's half of the photo like it was a life buoy. I fell amongst the glass and started to sob, howling.

The window caught my reflection. The glass had cut my hands, so if anyone did walk in, I could have tried to commit suicide.

The realisation hit me.

* * *

><p><strong>HI GUYS I WROTE A CHAPTER shot**

**HELP ME CONVINCE BARZINI FOR HANNAH/MEIKO /bricked**

**ANYWAY I HOPE YOU LIKED.**

* * *

><p><strong>Hi all! Hannah wrote us a chapter! Thank you Hannah! And oh, just for the note ABOVE, I say no. Cause I already paired you up and I don't want to do it again T_T You know how hard it is to find you a partner?<strong>

**My chapter may or may not be up within next week so...**

**Take care all of you!**


	24. Chapter 24

As we concluded our duet of Heaven, I excused myself from Yoohyun to find Miku, but according to Luka, she needed time off.

Time off from?

"Well? Where is she?" Yoohyun asked, brushing her brown hair aside and I shrugged, still looking around the backstage with my friend following.

"I don't know… Maybe she had something to attend to?" I replied, taking her to the nearby bubbletea shop.

"They don't have feelings do they?" She asked, sitting down in her usual unglam manner, legs wide open when she's wearing jeans.

"I see training in SM hasn't done you any good yet. No, they don't have a lot of emotions I think? I think it's simulated. Never figured out how it works either…" I replied, pointing at her legs and she simply rolled her eyes but became serious when I talked to her about emotions.

"She likes you doesn't she? Her eyes." Yoohyun said, to the point as always and I laughed. What a completely ridiculous notion.

"She's not real. We can never like each other." I shook my head and sipped my vanilla bubble tea.

"Oh?" Yoohyun said, her eyes narrowing, just like whenever she feels things are not as simple as it is.

"Ah hush up. How's SM?" I asked, and she smiled, while pointing to her eyebags. She never met me with makeup on. I guess that's a good thing.

"Tiring and fun. Got it. What do you want to do?" I asked her and she sat forward, stirring her mocha bubble tea.

"Show me around! I mean… This place is… Dae to the bak…" She said pointing at the Japanese setting within the huge glass sphere of the Crypton School and Town of the Future.

"It's a big place. We may end up walking a lot. For days. How long will you be here?" I asked, leaning backwards.

"Five days including today. Korean-Japanese exchange." She winked and I laughed.

"Even SM has their leg stuck in Crypton too?" I asked jokingly and she nodded.

"So far up." She gestured and I coughed as the accompanying gesture was not pleasant.

"Let's go?" I stood up, and she smiled, but I could tell her something was troubling her. Already.

"Really, I got nothing going for Miku. She's not real."

"If you insist, Mr Barzini."

Xxx

"Well this is where we try to recreate buildings in the Edo period, and they of course, sell things from that period… Such as Ukiyo-e… We also have real policemen dressed up as tanegashima musketeers in the Edo period's armour." I said, pointing to the painting of a wave and Yoohyun stared at it in wonder.

"Daebak… Jjinja daebak…" She said, and I, for the first time, instead of hurrying by for an assignment or that, stopped to examine everything on sale in detail. A painting of a group of Ashigaru Musketeers taking aim caught my eye and I bought it from the lady who was dressed in traditional garb.

Yoohyun bought the painting of Mt. Fuji. Typical tourists. Tsk.

"This place is amazing. All you guys just lack is a castle." Yoohyun said and I tapped her on the shoulder, pointing at a fort like building.

"Daebak! Omo. Let's go!" She cried out and I grabbed her back.

"That's where all our lecturers are."

"Oh. Those fake mounted cannons really remind all of you to do your homework right?" She smirked, laughing, and I stared at her.

"You must be really stressed to be this happy. You sadistic woman."

Xxx

"Miku would like this." I smiled, saying to myself as I pointed at the booklet of dresses while Yoohyun went on to try out a kimono.

Checking the price, I scanned the barcode and made the purchase, casually looking at the changing room to see Yoohyun come out of it, dressed in a red kimono along with some embroideries on it.

"Pretty." I nodded, smiling, and she stared at herself in the mirror.

"Omo. If I buy any more things, I'm going to go broke." Yoohyun said, staring at the price tag. Good things usually don't go cheap.

"Ah… You really like this?" I asked and she sighed, shaking her head. She earns nothing to little as a trainee as the company basically provides for her.

"Forget it, Barzini. Don't you dare buy it." She smiled and went back in to take it off, but as she did that, I told the shop attendant to wrap it up and deliver it to the dormitory, and I ended off buying another kimono for Miku as well.

I wonder where Miku is now really.

Really.

Xxx

6pm. Yoohyun was busy herping through my facebook while I waited for Miku, looking at the clock now and then.

"Where will you be sleeping?" I asked Yoohyun and she said that she'd be squeezing in with another 5 girls in a hotel room.

"Squeezing. Do you have any humanity left in you, Barzini?"

"Fine… I'll knock out the spare bed." I said and got up, taking the mattress and laying it, then shifting down. Ladies get the bed… Right?

Just then, the door opened and Miku came in, not in her usual arrogant swag but reserved and down, and Yoohyun stood up to bow.

"Annyeonghaseyo!" the trainee smiled but Miku glared at her coldly and her mouth fell open.

"She's on your bed!" She gasped, pointing an accusing finger at me.

"What? Yes, she is. Ah… Miku ah.. I bought…" I was about to take out my phone and show her the kimonos I bought for her but she just screamed and ran out, slamming the door behind her.

"Very calm friend you have." Yoohyun giggled and I stared at her.

"Can it, Hyun." I glared and opened the door, looking down the hallway.

"Miku?" I called out but there wasn't anyone to answer me.

"Barzini. Get your butt here." Yoohyun said, pointing to the chair and casually, oh so casually, hugging MY bolster.

"What?" I asked and she sighed.

"You stupid boy. How can you tell your yeoja chingu that you're letting me sleep on your bed?" She asked, and I rolled my eyes at her.

"She's a hologram. I'm… Human." I said, poking myself and showing it to her.

"Aish…" Yoohyun frowned and looked up at the hole in the ceiling, covered by a lid.

"What's that?" She said, pulling down the ladder.

"That's Nicole and Bakaito's room." I said, and she looked at me curiously.

"Bakaito?"

"Kaito to be exact. Ba in front for the bakaito effect. Baka means idiot you know?" I said, as if this was no big deal at all.

"You must really dislike him to be so mean." She said and I nodded.

"Why?" She asked and I shrugged.

"I don't trust him." I said matter-of-factly and she nodded slowly.

"Oh well! What's the program tomorrow?" She asked, and I pulled up an aerial map of the School and Town of the Future.

"We can go to little Korea." I said, pointing it out. It was a relatively new district. Right now, little England was being built along with little China, with Japan, Korea being completed and hiring for jobs of course.

"Ah… It's something like little Japan?" She asked and I nodded, replying just as quickly. Soon enough, it was getting late and Yoohyun first went to wash up, then she went to sleep, while I got out looking for Miku.

She wasn't in the park, nor in a lot of places. At last, I gave up and went back, and outside of my room, I heard whisperings, and I flung the door open, to see that Yoohyun had climbed up to communicate with Nicole.

"Oi! Oi! Whose room do you think you are bursting into at this hour?" I shouted and I saw Yoohyun look down for a minute, some more hushed whisperings and then come back down.

"What did you think you were thinking?" I barked and she shrugged.

"Helping you find your yeoja chingu. Any luck?" She asked, and I shook my head, exhausted.

"Aigoo… Barzini… You pabo…" She shook her head and sighed dramatically.

"Ya ya… Ahjumma…"

"Anyway-" I started, when a soft knocking came at the door, and I stood up, looking at the door then picking up the baseball bat lying against the edge of the room.

"Who is it?" I called out, opening the door and I saw Miku there, in a breathtaking pink pinafore with her twin pigtails.

"Wah… Pretty!" I said, and was about to show her the kimonos I bought for her when I heard light footsteps drop down behind, and I knew that now in the dorm, it wasn't just me, Miku and Yoohyun.

"Miku-chan, kawaii." Yoohyun said, her kawaii's pronunciation slightly off, and she pointed at her hair.

"How did she grow her hair so long?" Hyun asked and I muttered something along the lines of, "She was designed that way so…"

I wanted to entertain Miku right there and then. But knowing someone was watching us completely took the mood out of me. When will these people mind their own business?

"So you really got yourself a hologram girlfriend!" Yoohyun nudged me, and I got increasingly annoyed.

I turned around and saw a bloody army of people standing behind me.

"Mhm… You have to take Miku out… She dressed up for you, you know?" Luka said, and my heart softened, and I smiled at Miku. However, the look on Kaito's face was almost defiant. Challenging the owner of the house right there and then.

Instead of saying what I wanted to say, I forced myself to say-

"But today, I was going to catch up with Yoohyun! I haven't seen her in ages!"

"Bring her along, I don't mind." Yoohyun said, suddenly putting a hand on my shoulder and gently pulling me back. She was restraining me. She knew me well indeed.

"Alright… You all won't mind leaving right?" I said, though in my head, it was shouting, "Get out now."

As they shuffled past me to the door, I gripped the side of a table tightly, while keeping up a more or less forced smile to greet everyone.

When they left, I pointed for Miku to sit down.

"Yoohyun, go take a walk." I said, and judging from the look on my friend's face, this was one of the most liberating walks ever.

"Miku. Why?" I asked her, and she had a clear look of puzzlement on her face.

"W-What Barzini-sama?" She asked and I exhaled, taking a drink of water and swallowing it, and sitting down on my bed.

"You know what it is to miss someone right?" I asked her and she nodded slowly, clinging onto her chair.

"Look. Hyun and I have been through a lot. A lot. We miss each other. This may even be the last time we can see each other. Maybe second last. Not often, definitely." I said, and looked at her eyes. She looked away and down onto the seat.

"What I'm saying is… Be more mature alright? Like… Meiko. Okay, not her drunk side but when she's serious." I said, and then I gestured for Miku to come sit on my bed.

"I bought you two kimonos when I was shopping with Yoohyun." I said, and I was attempting to show it to her and she smiled a little. But there was something about her smile. I couldn't quite tell.

Xxx

The next day, Yoohyun had left my dorm early to buy me breakfast (or starve me to death, knowing she would stop here and there before actually coming back), so I took out my favourite, precious, sexy and sleek Alienware laptop and started to, or at least, try to write a song.

That was at least until I thought Yoohyun came back, as there was a not so friendly Yoohyun style knock to the door. But Kaito was there instead.

"Oh? Kaito? What can I do for you?" I said, and kept the door half open, bowing a little to greet him. Manners. No matter how much you dislike a person.

"We need to talk about Miku. And that woman, Yoohyun." Kaito said, offending me with the first sentence, just with the tone.

"Don't take that tone with me." I said sternly before relaxing my tone and leaned against the wall, giving the I-am-listening face.

What happened next, I don't remember much. Why? Because what happened next kind of forced everything out of my head. Kaito had thrown a punch at me out of anger or embarrassment, and my sparring reflexes kicked in. I pushed him to widen the distance between me and him, and brought my leg down onto his face.

Then Hannah and Meiko came in and reminded me of something during fighting. I had hit something solid. Something that is more than hologram and light.

After sending Hannah and Meiko on their way, I sat down and held my head for a minute, shaking it clear, and washed my face.

"Oh my goodness…" I muttered and Yoohyun came in, with waffles and pancakes, and obviously she could tell I wasn't feeling too good.

"Something wrong?"

"What gave it away?" I said, wiping my face with a towel then sitting down, pointing at the waffles and she passed me a box.

"Why? Sick of someone?" She pointed at herself jokingly and I shook her head and waved my hand.

Don't ask, it would mean.

"Arasso. Anyway, I need to invite people to go to Korea for the exchange program, I was thinking of inviting people to SM. Do you all want to go?" She asked, and my eyes looked up.

"Is SNSD in SM? I mean like now…?" I asked and she nodded.

"OH HELL YES."

* * *

><p><strong>Hi minna! Barzini here! Sorry for the wait but you can see character development is on full throttle now… So… :D <strong>

**And soon, we will be getting our vocaloids to sing in Korean! Along with some *COUGH* things *COUGH* coming up like *COUGH* romance *COUGH***

**Thank you all ^^**


	25. Chapter 25

Kaito went off somewhere this morning, I was worrying, but Miku was still sleeping her sorrows away, and Kaito could handle himself…I hope. For now, I was just making sure that Miku wasn't going to fade any more than she already had.

I yawned, I sorely wanted sleep, I lay my head on the table, and then I heard the door swing open, turning my head to the other side I saw, Kaito came back.

"What happened to you," I asked flatly, I really didn't need him to get into trouble now; I took in the slight of his bruised cheek and bleeding lip and what not. How in the world…did he get those injuries anyway, my tired brain was briefly registering?

He stalked past me and took out an aisu from the fridge, then slammed the door close. Then hunkering down, at his room's door frame, he popped the aisu into his mouth. Even in injury aisu is first to remedy bad moods apparently.

"You gonna talk to me or not…" the tone of my voice taking a softer edge, he didn't look good, but judging from what I see, he'll be fine in a couple of days, it was just too bad that I couldn't help him with holographic wounds.

"Am I wrong?" he murmured, "but Miku will fade without Barzini…what should I do…I'm the oniisan…but I can't do anything…" he ended bitterly.

I sat down in front of my vocaloid, our knees almost touching.

I peered into his eyes and said, "Hey. None of it is your fault, but you can't go around, doing what ever you've been doing, or being rude to Yoohyun."

He slid down and rested his head on my lap and looked up, his feet propped up on the door frame.

"But Miku…I can feel her hurt… and Barzini is not understanding the situation…" he said back.

"Barzini has his whole life with Miku, now he just wants time with Yoohyun before she leaves," I tried to explain.

"You don't understand!" he cried out, frustrated with me, "we are programmed to be with our masters, we want, no, we need the attention…Miku especially…she's not used to being rejected, she not used to being alone…" he finished his outburst, "like me..." he whispered under his breath, so soft I almost didn't catch it.

I think my heart was breaking for my dear vocaloid, in some ways he was like me when I was young, never really quite fit in. Then I smiled a reminiscent smile, of course, it was supposed to be that way, our companions were 'made' for us, almost like our other half. Perhaps now, I could see why our vocaloids were always so devoted, to me he was just a program anymore either, the times we shared together were always special.

And then I felt it, his weight, his features, sharper now, like he was…but…it couldn't be, I tentatively touched his hair, then sinking my fingers into it, as the truth sank in as well, he was … real.

"Oh geez…ohmygosh…" I gasped, half wanting to push him off, and half wanting to hug him.

"What," his head snapped up, apparently aware of my distress, and looking for the source of it.

"You're…you're…" I couldn't bring myself to say the words.

He looked down at himself, "Real…" he finished the sentence for me, he didn't look surprised.

My eyes were wide as I looked up at Kaito, "but…you're a hologram…" I trailed off, waiting for an explanation.

He started hesitantly like he wasn't sure how to break the news to me, "I think, my emotions overrode the computer system."

I blinked, not really comprehending.

"Crypton did warn us about it, but no one believed it," he ended, as if his explanation helped.

"Did you believe it?" I asked curiously, I wasn't afraid, just stunned. I took a step towards him, and wrapped my arms around him, he was warm.

"I think…I did," he whispered, and then suddenly he was back to his normal self, as I felt my hands begin to sink into him again.

Stepping away from him, I asked, "So…you become real when you experience extreme emotional stress or something like that?"

"I guess so…" he agreed and answered.

I thought back about the day of auditions, when I was the first to clear the test, and together with Barzini in the room, with that strange man telling us about teaching our vocaloids feelings, emotions. Was this what he meant?

Shaking my head, I put two and two together, "Is that how you got …" the revelation dawned on me.

"You really turned real and tried to punch Barzini…" I whispered, half in awe, half in shock.

"Yea…turns out his taekwondo reflexes were just too fast…" he said with a tinge of regret.

"Wait…so that means Barzini knows…" my mind was fully alert, putting together information.

"I think so…but he was so angry, I don't know if anything registered…"he paused for a second as if remembering something, and then continuing, "…Hannah and Meiko were there too…"

"So…only you, me, Hannah, Meiko and maybe Barzini knows…"

He nodded.

Okay, that was good, I was guessing that since, Crypton didn't tell us anything about this turning real thing, that would mean that it was supposed to be a secret of some sort, so the less people that knew of it the better.

"Kaito-nii…" someone mumbled at the door way.

Miku was standing there fully awake, and staring wide-eyed at the both of us, she was looking at Kaito's bruised face but didn't say anything.

"Miku-chan…" I started, "how long... have you been standing there?"

She cocked her head to the side, "We can become real?" she asked quietly.

Kaito and I looked at each other, unsure as to how to respond to that question.

"Well…" Kaito said hesitantly.

"It's true, what our creator-sama said is true." She said with wonder, then looking lost again, "…will Barzini want me if I'm real?"

Miku was trying so hard to be accepted by Barzini, she was trying so hard to be the best for him, and now finding out that she could really be someone Barzini could hold and touch.

"Barzini doesn't deserve you real if he can't even accept your feelings now," Kaito said coldly, so suddenly that even I was speechless for a few seconds, "you are too precious for that…" he ended simply, pouring all his care, concern and affection towards Miku in that line.

Miku's eyes spilled tears, "so…it's no use?" she questioned childishly.

Well, of course my thoughts were running, that if Miku became real it would probably freak Barzini out and cause their already widening gap to be bigger, Barzini wasn't as…what's the word…um…accepting when deviations from the norm happen right in front of his eyes as compared to me. I mean I like to imagine myself as the calmest person when it came to realising that my vocaloid could become freaking Real (with a capital R) when his emotional circuits tripped. But back to the matter at hand, how in the world was I supposed to put that into words to Miku.

Kaito opened his mouth to speak up, when 'pan pan pan pan meron pan!' rang cheerfully in the air and we all froze.

Picking up my cell phone, I felt Kaito and Miku's eyes on me as I opened my newest text message from Barzini.

_Yoohyun has invited the clique to Korea, an exchange programme with SM. It's in two days, so SeeU. _

I quickly read the text out loud, and, this was just another problem piled on to the existing ones, by clique he probably meant the whole music project group, that also meant it couldn't be declined, and so if I was going to see a peaceful trip to Korea, we'd better solve this issue first.

"I don't want to go to Korea with that wom-I mean Yoohyun," Kaito corrected himself when I shot him a look.

Then Kaito turned to Miku and said, picking up the conversation from just now, "and Miku, you don't need him…you have us…" Ah, I see what my dear vocaloid was trying to do, if you can't have it then try to forget about it or something along those lines.

Miku didn't look like she understood that, she whispered, her voice trembling, "l-leave Barzini…" that thought obviously had never crossed her mind. She looked at Kaito and said, "Kaito no baka!" and then she ran out of my room. Should I go after her? I decided to text Mai and Luka to help with Miku first.

I sighed, that wasn't really the best way to handle things, but what was said was said.

"She left…" Kaito said, looking a little lost.

And me, I just needed to sit down, for one lack of sleep and fighting vocaloids did not bode well for my energy levels.

There was silence for a while, but not a very nice kind of silence so I spoke addressing the only other person in the room, "that wasn't very wise."

"I know…" he replied solemnly.

"I can't exactly turn down the Korea trip either," it was a statement not a comment.

"I know…" he said again.

"You can't be like this…"

"I can't help it, I never want Miku to feel unwanted…" another statement.

"We have to solve this before the trip…that's 48 hours…" I ventured into the unspoken territory.

"How…" he mumbled, well wasn't that the big question…

I got up from my seat, no matter how tired I was, there were things to be done. "We need to find Miku first," I said, determined.

Xxx

"Did you find her?"

Mai shook his head, resting his hands on his knees, panting. Luka, Mai, Kaito and I were searching the huge campus grounds, in-between lessons and finally just skipping them, for the teal haired vocaloid and it seemed to be pretty much futile. We had already been about two hours into the search, and it was nearing lunchtime. Barzini was still hosting Yoohyun, well he had special permission to miss classes so I guess…

We regrouped at the school's café, and we all ordered chocolate milkshakes and sandwiches.

"Ah…I needed that…So what do we do now?" Mai said, finishing up his sandwich, hands reaching for his PSP, well got to give him some credit for keeping his hands off it for so long already.

"I don't know where else…" Luka sighed; even she was at a loss.

I bit the straw of my milkshake, I don't think she went out of the large school grounds so where was she?

Kaito had a dazed look, his bruise was turning colour already, vocaloids healed faster than humans? He was lost in his own world it seemed, until suddenly he jumped up, and ran toward the dorm block.

I stoned for a while. Dorm block? There was nothing there but our rooms… of course! I shoved my chair back hard, "You guys take a break," I called over my shoulder as I hurried after Kaito. It should have been obvious from the start, where else would Miku go back to but Barzini's room.

Xxx

My hands fumbling as I reached my room door, I roughly slid in the card and pulled it out, jamming the handle down, throwing the card on the table, the cover over the hole in the floor was open already. I slid down with no hesitation, trying to land as lightly as possible. It did feel a little intrusive walking into Barzini's room without his permission, but I guess at times like this…

Sure enough, the two of them were there, only not in the position that I expected them to be in. Miku was sitting in front of Barzini's computer, and Kaito was standing behind her.

Kaito moved when he sensed me come in, "Looks like I was wrong…" he murmured. Still worried, I walked over, and peered at the screen, wondering what it was that they were looking at…

_Today, 1:32am_

_I never meant to hurt anyone. I love that thing I own. I don't even know if I can call Miku 'it' in front of other people. I use that term "she" now. As far as I'm concerned, she's mine and I love her more than anything I have. Yoohyun's coming didn't really help me with this concept. One day, what if Miku becomes real? What would I do? Otthokae?_

It was Barzini's personal blog. I'm guessing he fell asleep while writing and forgot to logout, otherwise, there was no way that cautious friend of mine would ever leave his blog open.

"Miku-chan…daijoubu?" I gently shook her. Judging from the links that changed colour when you have clicked on them, I was guessing she had already read all her masters thoughts about her.

"Nicole-sama…" she finally looked up at me.

"And so…" I tilted my head to the side.

"Barzini-sama…wrote so many nice things about me…and all I did was…" she reached out and touched the screen.

"Haiz, so you've always had a place in that guys heart," Kaito said, almost with a cocky attitude.

Miku whipped her head around so fast, I didn't have time to duck when a wall of turquoise enveloped me, "It's Barzini-SAMA!" she glared at Kaito.

"Hai~hai~" he put his hands up defensively, a small smile on his face.

"Puu~" Miku hugged her knees, "arigatou…for taking care of me…" she mumbled, looking down at the floor.

"Glad you're feeling better Miku-chan~" I smiled. She just needed to be secure in her place in Barzini's heart, and now that she had that, perhaps she could live with Yoohyun in peace till the end of our Korea trip.

"Kaito-nii, help me wear my kimono...?" she asked, somewhat shy or reluctant I had no idea.

"Of course, imouto-san," he hugged her, "it was so scary seeing you fade, don't do that again." He scowled.

"Hmph," Miku huffed, as she climbed up to my room, and Kaito followed

Of course, I was happy for Miku for now, but I still had my doubts for what will happen when Barzini found out that his dear Miku could indeed become real.

I turned the laptop back to stand-by and climbed up after them, firing off a message to Luka and Mai that Miku was found.

Xxx

"JAJAN~!" Miku twirled in her newest kimono, the very same one that Barzini bought for her not too long ago.

She looked pretty, honestly almost breathtaking, making me slightly jealous but well, it was beautiful furisode, base colour was pink, patterned asymmetrically, almost plain on one sleeve to fully decorated on the other, the three layered kimono was also beautifully colour co-ordinated at the hems, and the obi, was just a darker shade of pink, with added teal and purple decorations, with the ribbon at the back that Kaito was still helping to arrange a wonderful colour to end off the piece.

"You sure you want to tie the fukura-suzume musubi (puffed-sparrow knot)?" Kaito asked from behind her.

Miku turned to look at the blue haired vocaloid and pouted, "of course!"

Kaito was surprisingly good at doing this sort of things, as well as handling the long long hair of Miku's as well, as he reached for the hair piece.

I clapped my hands, "Miku-chan…kirei~"

"Desho!" she said happily, twirling around.

"So now that you are so prettily dressed, where are you going?" I asked curiously, I mean seriously under all that layers, in the Singapore heat…

She looked solemn as she replied, "I'm going to hold a tea ceremony…Nicole-sama will help me right?"

"Eh…EH!" this was certainly out of the blue, "wait, like a tea ceremony now?"

Miku nodded, "I have…I have to say sorry to Barzini-sama…"

"You want to do a tea ceremony in a furisode!" Kaito almost shouted, shaking his head.

"Why not!" Miku retorted.

Kaito sighed, not like he could do anything after all that effort to put on that elaborate kimono. Honestly an Iromuji (plain coloured) type of kimono would have been more appropriate.

"So…Nicole-sama will help me find Barzini-sama …and Yoohyun-sama?" Miku said in a small voice.

I nodded, "I will call Barzini now."

"Then I'll help you with the preparations," Kaito told Miku, resigned.

Xxx

One hour later…after explaining to Barzini and Yoohyun that they were invited to a tea ceremony, only I didn't tell them by who…

I lent Yoohyun one of my kimonos and, was helping her to tie the ribbon at the back, a simple butterfly knot, everything about Japanese tea ceremonies were simple, Miku was probably the only one to do it in an elaborate furisode.

"Done, shall we go?" I held open the door, I still didn't really know Yoohyun well, but I guess after this tea ceremony we'll see how it goes.

She nodded, Barzini was already waiting outside, all dressed in the men's kimono.

"So…there's a tea ceremony room somewhere here?" Yoohyun asked.

"Yep, it's near the castle-looking structure…" I replied, I assumed Barzini took her there before as her nodded with understanding.

The tea ceremony rooms were free for all only that most people didn't use it because the amount of preparation was enormous and you had to do it properly or risk the anger of the sensei that teaches the Japan culture class if he finds out.

We were already drawing stares by the time we had washed our hands and reached the small garden that was paired with the tea room.

I moved to remove my geta, and waited for Yoohyun and Barzini to do that same.

Kaito slid open the rice paper doors, and motioned for us to enter.

Tradition did dictate that we were supposed to admire the calligraphy by the side of the room, but I guess, we just skipped that step…

"Daebak…" Yoohyun said, looking around excitedly at the medium sized tea room.

We quickly taught Yoohyun the proper seiza position and seated in accordance to prestige that meant Barzini was the first and I was the last, since this ceremony was meant for Barzini.

Then, Miku entered from the other door, she daintily sat down at the host position, in seiza she bowed deeply once to Barzini. Barzini's eyes widen, obviously not expecting that, or maybe Miku-chan was just too pretty in her kimono, he completely missed the cue to bow back.

Then Miku looked up and said, "Gomenasai, Barzini-sama…"

She looked to me, and I smiled encouragingly. Taking another breath she continued, "Miku was selfish, she was jealous of Yoohyun-sama," she paused to nod at Yoohyun, giving her a small bow, "I was scared that you didn't want Miku anymore."

Barzini gave me a questioning glance, but I shrugged at motioned for him to continue listening to Miku.

Looking up, at Barzini, "but Miku won't doubt Barzini-sama anymore…I will try to be more mature from now on." she finished.

I could see the approval in Barzini's eyes, "you look very pretty today Miku," he complemented; he shuffled over the tatami mats and patted Miku on her head.

Miku smiled up at him happily.

Then the door slid open somewhat forcefully, "Oshoukuji junbi owarimashita (The food is ready)," Kaito said formally from the side.

I figured since we were ditching the rules to tea ceremonies, I stepped over to help Kaito with the touch activated trays.

"Did you have to slam it so hard," I whispered to Kaito.

"Well, they were about to hug," he gritted out.

"Haiz…" I shook my head, over-protective as ever.

I could see Yoohyun was really happy about the food, "well, then I think we should eat," I said, clapping my hands twice, I said, "itadakimasu~" My chopsticks breaking into the salmon.

True and true to our abandoning of Japanese tea traditions, Miku just started preparing the tea when we were eating dinner. Kaito rolled up his sleeves and helped as well. I was only crossing my fingers and hoping none would catch us.

Washing all the utensils, Miku measured just the right amount of green tea powder into the bowl and added hot water, using her other hand to hold up her sleeve she whisked the tea using swift motions. The devices were vocaloid activated so whilst they can be performing the motion of brewing tea, in actual fact, it was brewing itself.

"You're really good at this," Yoohyun complemented Miku.

Miku gave another small bow, "arigatou, Yoohyun-sama."

When the tea reached a certain consistency, Miku bowed to each one of us in turn.

"Barzini-sama, dozo," she presented the teacup to him, rotating the cup once he drank, and said, "This is good~ Miku, you need to make my tea for me next time."

"Of course, Barzini-sama!" she said back happily, before serving Yoohyun and finally, me.

Yoohyun and Miku got on quite well throughout the night, and soon we retired to our rooms.

Xxx

I rolled onto my bed after my bath, and watched as Kaito walked into my room.

"Say just curious, but why did you ask Miku if she was sure she wanted to tie the Fukura-suzume musubi?" I asked Kaito.

"Ah…you know furisode is worn by unmarried women in Japan right?" he started off at a tangent.

I nodded in understanding, "uhhuh…"

"Well, traditionally, if you tie that knot with a furisode it indicates that that person was…well…available for marriage…" he trailed off.

I think I wanted to laugh, but all I could manage was a cough, "so…err…"

"Yea…I don't think Barzini-san will know the meaning of that though…" Kaito said.

"Hmm…I see I see…so you okay with Barzini now?" I asked my vocaloid.

He narrowed his eyes, "for now… I shall…observe him…"

I truly laughed now, "you know you sound like Miku's dad or something."

His eyes opened in horror, "I could never be as great as our creators-sama!"

I waved a hand at him, "okay okay, chill chill…I was just saying…"

He stuck out his tongue at me.

Xxx

I woke up the next morning, finally at some sort of peace, cause well, there was no one today to wake me up at abnormally early hours like the past few days. I did some studying, some packing for the trip tomorrow, by the time we came back from our lovely Korean exchange it would be straight in to exams.

The day ran off without a hitch, till a soft knock on my door, opening it I found Miku at my doorstep.

"Wassup?" I asked. She looked much better.

"Well, Barzini-sama and Yoohyun-san went off to get some local goods before we were going to leave tomorrow." She said, with a small smile.

"And?" I prompted, as Kaito handed her a blue sea salt aisu, and we settled down at the table.

"I found a folder on Barzini-sama's computer…" she replied, taking a bite of aisu.

"You sure it's okay to be prodding around Barzini's stuff?" I asked skeptically, I mean it was thanks to his computer that we saved Miku but after that?

"He said that I could use it if I wanted to," Miku defended.

Kaito smirked, and added in a jibe, "I bet he was just guilty leaving you at home…"

Miku ignored him and continued, "and so I found a folder named, 'Songs Composed for Miku'."

"Ohh," now this was interesting.

"But I couldn't open it!" she blurted out.

"Ah…I see…"

"It was password protected," she said, from the sound of it, it looks like she had tried to guess the password but failed.

"Miku-chan~ you can think of it this way, maybe Barzini just wants to give you a surprise or something…" I tried explaining, "so you should be patient…"

"Oh…I'm not very good with bring patient…" she told me.

"Think of it as your bid to become more mature," I nodded at my own words, as if I were saying something wise.

Miku's eyes widened fractionally, and she nodded, "thanks again Nicole-sama!"

Xxx

When she left, Kaito said, "You know Miku treats you as some personal life consultancy agent."

I laughed, and said, "I'm not all that wise you know, and sometimes I think she's quite brave to say sorry and all that."

Kaito came up behind me and rested his chin on my shoulder, hugging me.

"She is isn't she;" he said almost proudly, "wish I could be as brave as her too." He ended thoughtfully.

"Yup," I nodded in agreement, my reflection in the mirroring my actions.

I patted his head, "we should sleep now, 8am flight tomorrow."

He turned, and for a moment his lips touched my cheek, "Oyasumi, Nicole-sama." He whispered.

Wha-what was that for… as I watched him walk to his room.

Xxx

As we boarded that same plane we took to Japan, I buckled my seat belt, thoughts kept running through my head, I just couldn't get last night out of my head, I peeked a glance at Kaito, and he acted normally, just what did that kiss mean? I mean it was nice, but…but…at this point, uwahhh…just what should I think!

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>Andd…I'm done~… haha! Konnichiwa minna~ Arigatou for reading ne~!<strong>

**Hope this chapter helped with the character development… and for the "*COUGH* romance *COUGH*"… that is to come ~ with more chocolates and ice cream and all sweet things that happen during Christmas…:3…I digress… **

**And! And! Before I go~ **

**Barzini is a N.I.C.E. person! –grins- **

**N.I.C.E. person= Noticeably Incredible Caring Encouraging person! :D**

**Ja Arigatou~ Mata Na Minna~ :3**

* * *

><p><strong>Barzini: ._.<strong>


	26. Chapter 26

The plane was comfortable. But the way I was seated was weird. Yoohyun left, Miku right. That hologram was now a cheerful piece of work… Do holograms have mood swings too?

And a lot more accepting of Yoohyun I might add. She even tried holding Yoohyun's hands this morning, just that it obviously went right through and Yoohyun wasn't that well trained in cooperating with vocaloids.

There were a lot of other trainees also; some whose looks were just the kind where you would keep sneaking peeks now and then and figure out you're the luckiest guy alive at that point of time to be 5 metres away from her.

Of course, the invited boys were NOT complaining. The girls were ogling at the hot boys as well. It's a mutual exchange.

We were, or at least the Crypton students, were given a booklet. What to do when we get there. And it was in Japanese. Pure genius of whoever had written this.

"Miku… What does this mean?" I stopped once in a while when I figured out kanji wasn't going to help me out much here.

Yoohyun had her headset on. I could make out that it was an EXO song. SeeU however, was busy conversing with all the Koreans and you could see pure joy on her face. Korea was where her voice provider came from anyway.

Turning on my laptop, I set it on my lap and started to surf the net, herping my derp and then I saw that I had left my game of Shogun 2 on and I almost yelled. I was losing halfway the other day and raged quit.

I quickly shut it down and pulled up a word document, and followed instructions from Miku's translation.

_**To write a human song for your vocaloid. Where human refers to humanly emotions.**_

Miku was jealous recently right? Right?

However for me, before I wrote a song, I needed a melody for it first. But I didn't had one. So I just closed my laptop and shook Yoohyun who lazily opened her eyes and pushed a side of her headphone aside.

"Will BoA and SNSD be there?" I whispered and she shrugged.

"Depends on your luck if they have schedule while you visit…" She said, and after a while she opened her mouth-

"SM isn't a company to play around in. If you go there, they expect some high quality work. Like high."

"And sorry to disappoint, I think the SMTown artistes are in Thailand now." She winked and I sighed, deciding to talk to Miku this time.

"God damn it. Why aren't you in LOENT? I want to meet IU and Brown Eyed Girls instead." I scowled a little and took a look at Miku who was wearing her vocaloid headphones and drifting off to sleep.

"Yah, Miku. Is there anyone you want to meet among the Korean artistes?" I asked, and she wondered for a while.

"Rain..? I'm not that good with Korean pop culture." She replied and closed her eyes, listening to her music.

The rest of the clique were doing the same apparently… So…

"When in Rome, do what the Romans do…" I sighed and put on my own headphones, drifting off to sleep from Higurashi's Dear You.

Xxx

As the weather got more and more comfortable as we settled into the last days of Korea's autumn season, the people we greeted us, were sadly, not anyone from Girls Generation (sob) but someone from the Korean Cultural Organisation.

It wasn't a Korean beauty either (if I add sobs to my following sentences, all of you would have stopped reading), but an elderly man who gave off the vibes of a politician, shaking your hands and smiling a rather glued on plastic smile.

"Welcome. Welcome to the Republic of Korea." He greeted us with his entourage of all males and we smiled and bowed back. Though I thought my bow was a bit different and stiffer.

Blame taekwondo. All my form of bowing is like that now. Rigid and even more respectful. That's what I like to think anyway.

"Mai! Eyes off the PSP…" I whispered, gripping his shoulder while smiling, and he hastily kept Monster Hunters back in his back pocket and bowed.

"Barzini yah! Have fun!" Yoohyun winked and she left with the rest of the trainees. Leaving vocaloids, their masters and the army of Men in Black with us.

"Let's go to the airport lounge. Where I can explain everything." The man said and we nodded politely, some even bowing a little, and Miku seemed to be on cloud nine. Is it because Yoohyun was gone? But my head was still aching from the flight. Not a good time to go into all those deep complex thoughts.

Xxx

"Ah… So all of you have been brought to Korea as a very special cultural exchange programme between Singapore, Korea and Japan. Japan has designated the vocaloids as their representatives, their masters, or you, have been designated as the representative of Singapore. You have of course, already met the Korean representatives." He said and we all looked at each other. And I felt a huge boulder like thing go onto my shoulders. If it had a name, it would be called responsibility.

As if he was expecting some sort of answer from us, there was an awkward pause before he continued.

"However, SM has no need of so many song writers as part of a cultural exchange. Therefore, all of you can decide among yourselves, where you all wish to go. Two pairs of you have to separate and head for other companies." He said, and if he wanted a response, he had it. I was pretending to bend over while secretly doing fist pumps. From the girls, I distinctively heard the term, 2PM, CNBlue among others.

"Miku ah… I was thinking… LOENT or JYP…" I whispered and she shrugged, with the look saying, _anything._

"Excuse me… I was wondering… If LOENT or JYP was one of the options…" I asked and the man smiled, nodding.

"Barzini-sama… Isn't SeeU's creator in LOENT?" Miku whispered and I nodded.

"Can I meet he-" She started but too late, SeeU herself had forced Michelle to pick JYP to go and meet her voice provider.

Yukina and Piko chose to go to CUBE Entertainment. Why, I have no clue.

"We'll go for Loent then." I said loudly, shocking the group behind me as I wanted to make clear of my desires to see my bias, Brown Eyed Girls and IU.

"Barzini-sama… Are you afraid?" She asked, and I looked at Miku curiously.

"Afraid of?" I asked and she looked up at me through her large blue eyes.

"We're in a foreign nation now… Far from home. What if something happens to us here?" She asked, and I was going to laugh it off but somehow, I gave her an answer.

"We come into this world alone. We leave this world alone. If something happens, it happens." I replied, and she didn't seem to get it. She doesn't need to.

Right?

Amy and Aki went for YG Entertainment.

Xxx

They said there would be someone in LOENT who would brief us and all. They said that we would have no problems after we reach there.

THEY LIED.

We waited in the lobby for an hour after using fail Korean at the reception and we found out that my "boss" was out for a while and she expresses deep regret for having to make me wait.

Miku was extremely patient, but I wasn't. Was this the side-effect of being in a foreign country? I had my laptop open, and you know there are times you just type without using your brain, and you read it later and think, what the hell you were writing.

However, the lyrics for Miku's song were a bit… Melodramatic.

"The next words shall be, melo, melo." I giggled stupidly to myself.

Don't learn from me. This isn't how you write songs.

Just then, the doors opened, and I looked up, and gasped. No, it wasn't my idols. But someone who worked with them.

"Are you Barzini and Miku? Annyeonghaseyo, I am the lyricist, Kim Eana." She said, in more or less flawless English.

"You… You can speak English?" I asked, and she laughed. She was the composer and lyricist for IU and Brown Eyed Girls.

"Yes. You are Barzini and Miku?" She said, pointing at us two with a polite smile, her long curly brown hair swaying slightly as she spoke.

"Yes, we are!" I bowed and Miku followed suit and she gestured for us to follow while she took peeks at Miku once in a while.

"Is she hard to take care of?" She asked me and Miku opened her mouth to protest as I nodded slowly, laughing.

"Welcome to LOENT, I'll be introducing you to another person, Lee Minsoo, he doesn't speak English so… Haha!" She laughed politely and I nodded, my heart pounding more and more.

These were Korea's renowned composers and lyricists. I'll be content to just being an errand boy though preferably not of course.

Entering a mostly wooded boarded room with a single large rectangular table in front, this was LOENT's recording studio. My heart sank a little when I didn't see any idols but Lee Minsoo, but I brightened up when I saw sheets of paper on the table, all full of Korean words, placed in the manner of how lyrics would be.

"Annyeonghaseyo!" I said, exhausting about 30% of my Korean vocabulary and he stood up and nodded, a kind smile on his face.

"This is composer Lee Minsoo… Please take a seat… We have things for you to do…" She smiled and Lee Minsoo said something to Kim Eana and she laughed, and I looked at her, smiling politely and saying, "Hmm?"

"He said Miku was cute." She smiled and handed me a blank piece of paper and a pen, and told me to write an emotion of my choice.

"Nostalgia? Missing someone?" I said awkwardly and wrote it down and turned to look at the both of them.

Miku was having a great time planking on the couch, I must say. All these weren't her niche… She could only sing and writing songs was… Perhaps quite out of the queue for her?

Lee Minsoo said something and Kim Eana nodded, her smile slightly fading before replying and turning to face me.

"You came for an exchange program so we need you to understand that you will be worked around. We will directly involve you in lyrics writing and if we can, get you to follow maybe an idol around to be a manager to experience idol life." Kim Eana said seriously and I swallowed my saliva.

Lee Minsoo swivelled his chair around to face me and say something but the moment my eyes flared into his, he looked away and continued to speak in Korean but I could guess from his hand gestures he was emphasizing the seriousness of this exchange trip.

"As you may or may not know, Ga In's comeback is soon, pretty soon and she is a rather popular figure in Korea, not just because of We Got Married." She said, possibly seeing my eyes light up.

"You are representing the media industry in your country. I trust you will do well." She said, and I suddenly regretted saying okay to go to Korea.

I suddenly wanted to be back in boiling hot Singapore.

Xxx

The dormitory was just a simple LOENT dormitory. The date that day was the 11th of September. At least my window was facing the city horizon. Miku was on bed.

"Barzini-sama! What are you doing! Why aren't you playing with me!" She whined and I sighed. Did anything Kim Eana said go into her head?

"I don't know… Let's go for a walk." I said, opening the door and into the corridor of LOENT where everyone cast me un-nerving glances with Miku at my side. However, my eyes were scanning for my idols while thinking of the lyrics. Perhaps thinking too hard.

Xxx

"Where are all the Pocky and stuff?" I said, frustrated. Do Koreans eat Pocky for day to day businesses? The shelves were empty.

"Baka! Baka! Barzini-sama! Pepero Day! Pepero Day!" She pouted and looked at the shelves, bored. There was nothing she could use unless I scanned it, which may or may not be in violation with Korean laws of purchasing. No diplomatic immunity, I am afraid.

"Oh…? Such a romantic day is it?" I said, clearing my head and focusing at the park around me and true enough, couples were holding hands.

"Wah! Look! So cute! Big and small hand!"

I looked at where Miku was pointing and I saw a couple holding hands with each other while doing a chocolate pepero kiss.

Suddenly, adrenaline rushed through me.

_You held out your big hand  
>I keep smiling<br>A sweet, chocolate melody  
>You touch my head<em>

Xxx

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><p><strong>We're in Korea! Oh well not really. The purpose of this visit is to really... Guide our characters on their career path and all. And if you have been reading well and good, the pairings all came up more or less.<strong>

**The significance of the last four lines? Look at the word Nostalgia.**

**I swear I didn't plan it. When the song came out, I actually had planned to write a song about Nostalgia! Haha!**

**And please take care all! Till next time! **


	27. Chapter 27

Korea. The home of bibimbap. Well that was the first thing I ate there for lunch anyway.

Nothing much happened, we were all split off into different groups, and I opted for a not-so-popular entertainment company to work on for the music project. C-JeS, the home of JYJ, a particular three boy group. Yuuchun is my bias by the way.

I sat on the couch at the agency's lobby. Flipping open the assignment letter, and read it once more.

_Produce an original music video._

That was it, five words, no theme, no nothing, just produce something out of air apparently.

I just wanted to kick myself for putting down 'music video director' in the choose your future career form, from what I was hearing from my dear friends the music assignment was all dependent on what you put down as your choice.

And just what was I going to do here in the middle of Korea, producing a I don't know what it's gonna be video.

"Nicole-sama! Hello!" Kaito was waiving his hand in front of me.

"Ah! Yes!" I exclaimed, snapping out of my trance.

"You okay?" my vocaloid peered up at me.

I sighed, for the first time I was homesick, you know the feeling when everything and everyone familiar is so far away, and you just want your bed to dive in, yeah...and I was going to be stuck here for a month!

I buried my head in my knees, as an answer.

"Nicole-sama, it isn't that bad, you can still talk to the others right!" Kaito prodded at my phone.

"Yea, but what about this!" I whined.

"Oh you can just make something out of ice cream or something blue." he suggested.

"Hello, you are Nicole-ssi and Kaito-ssi? I'm the public relations manager, Monica," a lady all dressed in some what informal wear stuck her hand out at me.

"Yup, that'll be me," I stood up and shook her hand, she nodded once to me before awkwardly shaking Kaito's hand as well. For one I was relieved I didn't have to speak in my broken Korean.

"Great! Welcome to C-JeS, we're rather small so I suggest we dispense with the formalities and just go by first names," she continued fluently, walking us in the direction of the lifts.

"Um…so where are we going?" Kaito said, hopping from one foot to the other.

She jumped a little at his voice before replying, "To see the man who started this company of course."

The lift doors pinged open. Monica rapped at the door before a voice said to enter.

Seated at the rosewood desk was the CEO of C-JeS, Baek Chang-Ju, young looking man, dressed in the typical business suit and tie.

"Annyeonghaseyo," I said, bowing slightly, he gave a nod, and gestured for us to have a seat.

Smiling, he then said something to Monica which she then said, "He welcomes you to the C-JeS family, and as I've said before, since we are a small agency we tend to be slightly less formal here than at other places."

I nodded again, but really, I was just honored to be in the presence of the big boss…

"We understand that you have a task to produce a music video as part of this exchange program, while we will do our best to help you, the first step in everything is to help yourself as well." She translated for me.

I peeked at Kaito from the corner of my eye, he had zoned out in the middle of the translation apparently, and then I realised the big boss was looking at him as well.

"He asked what is he doing," Monica told me.

"Well, he's…uh…communicating with the other vocaloids," I started saying, I really didn't know how to explain it.

The closest word I could come up with how Mr. Baek Chang-Ju felt was probably fascination.

"I see, so, I think we'll get you settled in and then tomorrow for some inspiration you'll be shadowing one of our artists on their new MV shoot, and I hope to see your proposal by the start of the next week," the CEO nodded and smiled at me expectantly, as he waited for Monica to translate for me.

Almost nothing registered except for the proposal due by next week part, so I only nodded weakly.

Xxx

We were back in that elevator, and Monica was talking rapid fire about what I should try eating, and even fixing me up with one of those fancy Korean hair dos.

She fipped a page of the notes she was explaining to me, "...oh and you'll be following JYJ..."

My head snapped up at the mention of that name, "JYJ..." I repeated.

"Mhm..." she nodded, "they are scheduled to film their MV tomorrow so I suppose..."

Well, she kinda lost me there as I floated up to fan girl haven, squealing in my head, running around...etc etc...

"Nicole..."

"Oh, Nicole-sama is a huge fan of JYJ," Kaito just quipped out of nowhere, when I wasn't responding.

"Ah..." Monica nodded again, was that sympathy in her eyes, I think she too knew what it was like to be smitten with those guys. Sigh.

I caught Kaito rolling his eyes.

"Well, it's free and easy for dinner, and an early start tomorrow, so rest well," Monica waved as into out room and shut the door behind her.

Xxx

I woke up with my whole left side stiff. Figures since I somehow went from the bed to the floor in the middle of the night. Glancing at the clock, 6am...eyes still blurry I stumbled into the bathroom and washed up.

When I came out, Kaito was still asleep when there was a knock on my door.

Monica came in, "oh great! You're up! Let's go, have to get an early start before the fans start chasing~" I didn't know how she could be so happy so early in the morning or if she was joking about fan chasing at 7am.

"Mkay, Kaito is still sleeping though," I waved my hand toward his bed.

"Wake him up! Be downstairs in five," she said breezily, as she whisked out of my room as fast as she came.

And so just how was I supposed to get my sleepy head of a vocaloid downstairs? Easy, I chibified him, picked him up and plopped him on my head, he could change later I guess. Besides his aisu printed PJs are cute.

A non-discript MPV was waiting outside and Monica hurriedly waved at me to get in.

"Where's Kaito?" she checked.

"Up here," I poked a finger at him, plucking him down from my head and watching him do his little cute yawn.

"Is that a vocaloid?" someone asked from the back.

"Uh...yea..." I started to reply, and then I realized, it was JYJ in the back. All three of them, from my bias Yuuchun, to sexy Jaejoong and cute Junsu.

"You can act informally with us," Yuuchun said, misunderstanding my lack of reply.

"I imagined them to be bigger," Yuuchun trailed off, in slightly accented English as he stared at the blue figure in my hand.

"That's because Nicole-sama chibified me," Kaito said shortly, all mussed up hair and with an indignant pose.

Jaejoong leaned over the seat and poked Kaito saying something in Korean.

"He said he's cute," Yuuchun translated.

Kaito pouted, I nodded in agreement, of course chibi Kaito was cute.

Monica then said something in Korean and then translated it for me.

"I told them that you will be helping me out on the job today, and to treat you like part of the staff," she told me.

"Yes, mam'," I gave a small salute at the end, this was more than an opportunity, but to work with your idols for a day, it was more like a dream come true.

"How old is your vocaloid?" Yuuchun asked.

"He's seventeen this year, why?" I asked curiously.

"Heh, that would make us his hyung (old brother)," Yuuchun said.

"So, I have to call you all hyung?" Kaito questioned.

Yuuchun turned to his group mates, and they nodded in unicent. I wanted to laugh at my vocaloid's expression, so I get to to call them by name because I'm 'part' of the staff and he has to call them hyung just because he was younger. Looks like Korean honorifics were more complicated than Japan.

Xxx

The driver dropped us at some warehouse looking structure, we all got off the car and entered the set.

"This is awesome," I breathed, looking around at the lights, and cameras sticking in from various angles, not to mention the smoke blowers and racks of clothes.

JYJ got whisked off to hair and make-up for the shoot, as Kaito and I bowed our way through the introductions of the various important people involved with my limited Korean.

"I wanna try that," Kaito clung on to a strand of my hair and whispered in my ear.

My eyes followed his finger to three piece suit hanging at a changing room door.

"Wh-" I started to question his sudden choice of clothes when I was interrupted.

"Nicole-ssi, the CEO has something urgent he needs me back at the office now," Monica said to me hurriedly, thrusting a notebook in my hands.

"Wait, wait what?!" I exclaimed, she wasn't going to leave me was she!

"Just follow the schedule to the letter and you should be fine," I nodded her head animatedly at me, trying to reassure herself or reassure me, I didn't know.

"But..."

"Just think of it as on the job experience," she said quickly with a small smile, "and if there's any major problems call the number at the bottom of the page." She emphasized the word major. And yea I didn't think on the job experience meant leaving me in the middle of an MV shooting on the first day.

Before I could say anything more, she was out of the place faster than you could say kimchi.

"Manager-ssi, we can proceed?" the make-up artist directed the question at me.

Junsu gave an encouraging nod, and I just blankly nodded back. I mean come on, I was 15! What was I supposed to know about fiddily things like make-up.

I watched them shoot the first take as I read the rest of the schedule for today.

After the MV shoot, there was an interview, then a photo shoot, then an appearance at the local radio station, then a short break, then a commercial shoot and dinner.

No where in the schedule did it say lunch, and the time which we actually get back to C-JeS was the only timing actually NOT stated. Talk about busy.

"Cut! Okay, that was good, change set!" the director said in half Korean half English.

And then the props and costume people suddenly burst into action, and a flurry of people running about touching up make-up and adjusting clothing.

"Can I try that now!" Kaito half shouted from his perch, I had almost forgotten about my blue hair friend amid all the mess.

"Yes yes okay," I said distractedly, zapping the suit with the vocalize app and unchibifyng him.

Two minutes later...

He came out of the dressing room, and really, he looked really good in that suit. Professional.

"OH!" Yuuchun shouted from across the room.

Instantly the attention was on my vocaloid.

The director said something. I stared at him puzzled when Yuuchun quipped up, "he said that he has the looks to be an idol."

I wanted to explain to him that Kaito was already one, when the director barked something at the make-up artist.

"He wants him in our MV..." Yuuchun trailed off, standing awkwardly.

"Uh...we wouldn't want to intrude on your music video," I started hesitantly.

The director sounded impatient at this point.

"He insists," came Yuuchun's reply.

I looked from the impatient look on the dircpectors face, to the can-I-please look on Kaito's face and nodded. I crossed my fingers and hoped C-JeS wasn't gonna kill me for that.

And so the second scene was shot with Kaito as the unexpected extra. Thankfully all he had to do was just walk in the background, nothing too hard.

"Good good!" the director praised. Before JYJ were pulled away into the last scene change.

"My...hyungs" Kaito started awkwardly, "sure look tired," Kaito commented, "even my life wasn't that busy, and I doubt even Miku's schedule was that bad."

"Mhm...shows you how competitive the K-pop industry is," I murmured back absently.

I watched their faces from the mirror, and caught Jaejoong stifling a yawn. Poor things and they still had so much to do.

Xxx

We ran around almost half of Korea I would think and we were just done at the local radio station, I was slowly slipping and getting used to my manager role, abit clumsy with the language barriers but I didn't think I did that bad.

Bowing our way out, we stepped into the car.

"So, it's break time for an hour..." I asked Yuuchun questioningly.

"Ah, we will go to our usual place," he said mysteriously, and the driver seemed to know where that was immediately.

I nodded slowly, "Huhh, okay." Up to them to go where they wanted for break right?

"Junsu wanted to ask, how does Kaito eat?" Yuuchun started.

"Vocaloid made food of course, hyung!" Kaito replied back, and he launched into a full explanation on how it worked.

"Pity he can't eat the ice cream we are about to eat," Yuuchun said to me.

"Aisu!" Kaito childishly exclaimed.

"Actually he can," I mumbled, and then explained briefly about the vocalize app, Yuuchun translated halfway before I switched to Japanese in the explanation and realized that they could all understand Japanese, which made conversations much easier since we didn't have to go back and forth with translations.

Reaching the ice cream parlor, the sign said FELL+ COLE, gastronomic ice cream. JYJ put on some shades before stepping out of the car, though they were still mobbed by fans that appeared out of nowhere to me. I think I was supoosed to do something but the driver stepped in eventually for crowd control and we finally made it into the shop.

Sitting at a discreet corner, I scanned the menu. They had really wacky flavours like Darth Vader and Lebanese Rosewater, but Kaito went for a burnt caramel with smoked sea salt, and I did a chocolate. JYJ went for their favourite flavours of Monkey Business, Grapefruit Champagne and Vietnamese Coffee.

"Awesome flavour," Kaito said in contentment.

"Deshou (I know right)," Junsu sighed as he too took a bite of his choice.

I was probably more excited to be eating aisu with my favorite Kpop group than the aisu itself.

We chatted for a while about trival things like which ice cream flavour was best and if Haagen Dazs was indeed the best, I prizes for guessing who started that topic.

"So, I heard that you two were on an exchange attachment project," Jaejoong said expectantly in Japanese.

"Yup, my assignment is to make and direct an MV," I replied.

"Heh."

"The CEO wants a proposal by the start of next week," I continued, fiddling with my spoon.

"Whoa, that's fast," Junsu commented.

"Nicole-sama has done songs in a day! So no problem with this!" Kaito said confidently to the group.

Trust my vocaloid to say that, I waved my hands frantically explaining that it was a group effort.

"If you need any help you can ask us," Yuuchun tapped a finger on his chin and grinned.

Internally I had just burst and gone to heaven, but I just nodded in response, too stunned at the offer.

Xxx

We were late at the commercial shoot.

And being late was not a good thing, in the efficiently run Kpop industry.

Of course, being the 'acting first day on the job manager' and being late didn't help as I had to apologise my way through the room of scary looking important people.

Kaito gave me a quick hug at the end of it all when JYJ was once again whisked away to change into the clothes they were advertising. I think he sensed that my pride was quite battered after the repeated scoldings from various people.

"Sugohaetda,(well done)" Junsu said to me in the car as we left the venue.

"So sorry for making you all rush through the shoot," I turned and bowed in my seat.

"It's okay, it was a good job for your first time," Yuuchun said encouragingly.

"Yea, even experienced managers can't keep to schedules either," Jaejoong whispered in Japanese to me.

I smiled a little though I still felt bad, they had to be more tired than me.

Xxx

It was ten minutes to midnight, the commercial shoot ran all the way into dinner and bed time, at least for me.

Hungry, I was cooking instant noodles for dinner. Kaito was eating a banana.

Just when all was peaceful and I was going to slurp my ramen, someone knocked on the door.

"...Monica-ssi..." I let her in sleepily.

"Well done!" she said brightly, where did she get the energy from I wondered.

"Thanks," I said back.

"You handled everything EE," she shook my hand and said.

"EE?" Kaito asked.

"Exceeding expectations!" she beamed back.

"Huhh..." I said, feeling a bit confused.

Then she suddenly looked apologetic, "Ah, you see, it was all a test, we wanted to see if you could take a pressure to work in this industry."

"Wait...so..."

"Yes, making you late was part of it, to see if you could handle it," she said, her tone finally apologetic.

I lay my head on the table, "I see..."

"Now that we know we can rely on you, we can send you on more active tasks," she said happily.

I nodded. Wasn't today active enough?

"Well then, you deserve a break so tomorrow is a free and easy, and then the day after you will follow me around, and work on your proposal for next week," she read off a file.

"Oh, and the CEO thought you might need this," she placed a box on the table, "have a good nights rest. Ahn-nyeong (goodnight)."

"Ahn-nyeong," I said back as she left.

My noodles expanded in the cup, soggy noodles, but anyway, I lifted the lid off the box. Took out the items one by one.

"He gave you a C-JeS staff tag, and a list of places to go in Korea as well as a sling bag?" Kaito wrinkled his nose it the items.

"What did you want? Aisu?" I teased.

Though I must say for the first welcome present in Korea, it wasn't bad at all.

Xxx

**Thanks for reading minna~ sorry it took so long to update it's gonna get busy this year~ 'A' level year~ yay me~ well Happy New Year~! (even though its quite into the new year already ) And uh~ Happy Chinese New Year in advance! :) **

**On another note, I know in Korea the honorifics are really important in their culture, so if I mess things up in the fic then yea, it's my fault, so don't use this as a guide ~ ^^"**

**Once again, Arigatou or as they say in Korean~ Kamsahamnida! , and mata na~ -bows-**


	28. Chapter 28

So. Pepero songs did not work. Though I came out with something catchy and cute called the Pepero song, but it lasted less than a minute before the inspiration flow just died.

Nostalgia, on the other hand, I decided to keep it for a future date. Good things about writing and composing songs are that eventually, you will use it (maybe never, who knows?). However, I decided that the theme, Nostalgia was extremely suitable.

I leaned back in my chair, casually looking at Miku, that turquoise-haired bumbling fool who had covered her eyes with a blanket and was apparently taking a nap.

"I don't know… I don't think LOEN is for me…" I mumbled, putting the pencil down and casually looking out at the night scene of Seoul.

Dialing Eana's number, I wondered what I should tell her – I'm not cut out for this. I can't do it.

When she picked up, you could tell she was probably eating. You could hear a grill sizzling.

"Hello? Barzini ah." She said pleasantly, and I immediately started fumbling.

"Yes… Miss Kim. I don't think I'm cut out for this… I'm stuck."

The lyricist heard this and for a brief second, she seemed at a loss for words. Not wise to say these things on day 1 of job. Learn, my fellow little ones.

"I think… Songwriting isn't a thing you can rush out. And when you write a song, don't just try to think about the person singing it. Voice is not an issue. If this song doesn't work, we can always keep it in storage for another singer." Eana replied, as if trying to figure out what has been in my mind.

"But I am writing for Miss Son Ga In right? I don't know. She's a star and I'm a nobody. She will never take my songs."

"You are right. But all song writers, composers, they all start as nobodies right?"

Eana's words hit my head like a Miku who just flew a huge leek (that is actually real) at me.

"LOEN provides songs for other artistes too. If yours don't make the cut for Ga In, then we can always sell it to another group. Look…"

At that point, I looked at Miku who seems to have fallen asleep. For a weird reason, I lamented the fact that it wasn't a girlfriend who was lying there, but a holographic singer. Oh! Woe is me!

Talking about girlfriends, it's been a while since I dated. It didn't end well,

You know when you are young, you tell each other that one day, you will both marry each other and then happily ever after!

But it never ends that way. Rarely does, at least.

Sipping my cup of coffee, I went to Miku, hoping she would at least talk to me. Seriously, all this girl does is eat, sleep. Oh, and whine. Let us not forget whine.

But to admit, whenever she wants to talk, I'm busy doing work.

As I sat back down at my chair, I watched the cloud of vapour rise from my cup of coffee as I wrapped the blanket around me staring at the empty piece of paper. PAPER. Never trusted a computer too much to not make a paper copy.

However, as the night went by, thinking about your former relationship (and being barely legal), makes you wonder, if drinking a cup of coff- I mean, wine, and would have helped bring each other back.

Then, I remembered the times we said we want to have a romantic date in a Café.

We boys fantasize about that perfect date. We do too. Just that we don't say it.

Looking at Miku, I pictured her going on a date with me. It was romantic at first, until the realistic part of me kicked in and reminded me of her leek breath. Boy!

_Let's have a cup of coffee again in Hongdae. At this point at night, a lady is having a cup of coffee._

As I wrote this song, warm memories and not so warm memories of my ex floated to my mind as I occasionally stopped to look at the window, then at Miku, then back at the paper to write.

At about 3am, I finally finished, and the only blank was the name of the song.

"That can wait…" I mumbled, and was about to head straight for bed when I noticed that Miku was not covered by a blanket. Pulling one through the Virtual Recaller (They at Crypton finally came up with a name for this. Thank heavens. It was suffocating to call it THE THING), I placed it over Miku and noticed the moon.

You never get a moon like this in Singapore or that many stars. You don't even see stars in Singapore.

Sitting by the window, I kept looking at the moon, and I smiled.

But as usual, that peace was shortlived.

"Barzini-sama! Hello!" Miku yawned most dramatically, at 3 bloody am in the morning and as I wished to doze off in the moonlight like what you see in all those visual novels, I was denied that opportunity.

"Hello… I was about to head off to bed." I yawned, giving up on my dream and walking for bed. Sitting on it, it was so warm and comfy. Maybe basking in the moonlight was not the best idea after all.

She had picked up my piece of paper and taken a read at it.

"Wow… Barzini-sama… This is such a sad song… Who are you writing about?"

Who? Is it me hoping this is what happened? Talking things out over a cup of coffee or wine?

"It's just me and my ex-girlfriend. We only lasted a month." I said, leaning against my pillow that I have plumped up against the wall. It was more comfortable and Miku had moved to sit beside me with that piece of paper.

"Oh…? Ex… Girlfriend?" Miku asked, seeming to scrutinise every word in that piece of paper. A song – Why scrutinise it so much?

"Did you like this girl a lot?" Miku asked, and I gave a short, forced laugh.

"Of course. I mean… Sure…" I replied, and Miku said something indecipherable in Japanese and I moved a little closer.

"What? One more time in English."

"I want to like you too."

A vocaloid, a mere hologram love me? Wow that would really, really be impossible.

"Sure. I want to like you too." I grinned, and then purposely poking through her – Just to remind her that she's a hologram.

"Why did it have to be like this?" She sighed, and then turned to look at me, a sad smile on her face – and from that point onwards, this would be the last time I saw her like this.

A flash of light blinded me, and for a moment, even my ears rang out – Perhaps there was a sound that went with it, I wouldn't know.

As my vision returned to me, the first thing I saw were the lyrics I wrote and I reached out for it. But as I did that, my hand brushed against a lock of hair. A lock of… Hair?

Taking the piece of paper anyway, I looked to the side and there was Miku. Just very different from what she is.

Her eyes were no longer the anime-sized types you see. It was instead, feminine and rather small. Her face was basically how a lady of breathtaking beauty would look like. Each feature seemed to emphasize another on her face and if this was a random girl on the street, she would have taken your breath away or turned heads.

Her hair was now a darker shade of turquoise.

She looked human.

But scientifically, that is impossible. Right?

Miku held up her hands, as if squinting at it, and she looked at herself before looking at me. I had already gotten up and started to back away.

"What the hell just happened?" I hushed, my hand on a chair, afraid that whatever had just happened would hurt me.

"I don't know. Barzini-sama? Please…" She stood up and started to walk closer and I retreated, before shouting-

"Back off! I said BACK OFF!"

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>

We're back! At least, I'm back. Sorry for the long delay. School and work has been sucking the life force out of me and kudos to Nicole that occasionally reminded me about this. That's why I never forgot about it.

I encourage our readers to go look for this song: Davichi's Two of Us

This song would be instrumental later on. I hope all of you take a look at that song's lyrics.


	29. Chapter 29

"Nicole-sama...wake up."

A warm synthetic voice in my ear. Wait... This feeling was sure familiar. I smiled a little at the memory...the first night that Kaito stayed with me... I snuggled further into my sheets.

"Please wake up...please?"

The voice pleaded, a little panicky in tone... That wasn't how it was supposed to go. A frown touched my lips, as I woke up gradually.

A small gasp of surprise as I found Kaito kneeling next to my bed.

My eyes flittered to the digital clock, the blue face of the clock glowed, just past 3am.

"What's wrong..." I sat up slowly, the fact that Katio was awake two hours after we'd said goodnight was strange.

"She's gone," he stared at me and said, his eyes meeting mine dully, he looked somewhat lost.

"Wha...who's gone?" my brain was clearly still in its sleep mode.

"Miku," Kaito repiled, just one word, but I guess it cleared up a lot of things.

I slapped my face lightly trying to wake myself up...I wanted to go back to sleep, "It's not the first time she's gone right?" I remembered the time in Japan...

"Yes, but this time I think she turned."

"Turned as in turned real...human...?" I clarified. I was still trying to find a spark plug for my brain.

Of course, we had talked about Miku becoming real, she did have strong feelings for Barzini after all. We speculated what would happen if Barzini were to find out that Miku could be real, and knowing him, he would freak out and possibly chase Miku away, not very reassuring at all for her all too caring big brother.

Kaito nodded, his eyes flaring with anger, "Yes, and this time I don't trust Barzini." he bit out harshly.

I sighed, "I thought we talked about this, and said this case was closed right? You saw Barzini's online journal, he loves her."

The fire in his gaze, died down a little, "Then why won't he show it."

"It's not that easy," my voice taking on a edge, losing sleep after such a long day was making me grouchy and I was trying hard not to snap. Kaito and I had talked about this, a long detailed conversation, enough to probably write a two thousand word essay, until I thought there really was nothing to talk about anymore regarding Miku and Barzini. Everything was about those two these days...

"If it's not easy now, how is he going to handle it when she's real?!" he shouted.

Oh...gimme a break!

"Love is never easy! Of course he's going to freak out!" I shouted back.

I blinked, surprised by my own outburst. Well, anyway, that woke me up, what do you know, 3am and my good-natured vocaloid decides to snap on me. And I decided it was in my best interest to shout back.

Catching my slightly shocked expression, he dropped his gaze and whispered, "I'm sorry...But..." he paused then continued, "...you didn't freak out..." Oh? So instead of Nicole-sama I was 'you' now... That sent a curious feeling through me.

"Yea...I guess I didn't..." I mumbled, "...I'm used to weird things I guess..."

"So...I'm a weird thing huh?" he said, his voice sounding strange.

Scooting over on my small bed, I patted the side that was now empty, "come here," I murmured. Looks like I was in for a long talk.

He eyed the spot for a while before sliding in next to me, resting stiffly against the bed head. "Anyway she's gone from the voca plane..." Voca plane meaning the platform which the vocaloids could sense each other and communicate.

"I'll call Barzini in the morning okay..." I tried to give my assurances, I knew how much of family Miku was to him. Sometimes, I think he thought about her whenever he wasn't thinking about singing or aisu...or me... Did I want him to think about me?

"I won't let her get hurt again... I won't... I can't... She's my dearest imouto..." he turned his face into the crook of my shoulder. I patted his head, wondering if he could feel it, I wanted to crush him against me, and tell him it would be okay, but of course, I couldn't...well not for real anyway... after that one incident of him becoming real, he never did turn into flesh and blood again.

"Do you really think Miku became real?" I asked, my fingers running though his translucent filmy blue locks.

"Yes, if love is what I think it is, then yes Miku loves him, and you have always told me that love is the most powerful emotion."

"What is love to you?" I wondered out loud. Curious to know his answer, most people take a life time to understand the simple word, some people will never understand it, even I'll admit I don't know all of it. What was love to my blue-haired vocaloid? Crypton did tell us to teach our vocaloids emotions, so what had my vocaloid learned?

He lifted his head from my shoulder, looking out the window steadily, he half sang, half spoke, in his unique voice...

Saying, "Love is, resting next to you like now. Love is, lying on that breakwater, and catching stars for you. Love is, wanting to hug you when you're sad, angry, or frustrated. Love is, singing together. Love is, making ice cream parfaits with pocky. Love is, listening to you tell me stories. Love is, riding a bike with you and watching you smile. Love is, you letting me see you in pink pajamas with kitty prints. Love is..."

And he went on, and on, singing about, each memory he had of me, of us... From the very start when we had met just those mere months ago, all the way up till now.

Every tiny shared moment, even those that were insignificant to me had a place in his heart, he remembered and he shared them with me in his song.

Slowly I felt the weight of his words, morphed into the weight of his body pressing to mine. Suddenly, it was terrifying, he knew his love for me, he made sure I knew now, but how did I feel? Of course I loved him, but did I love him as much as he loved me?

He was real, I could feel him solid now, I looked and admired him in a way I hadn't the first time he was like this, his features human, my vocaloid's eyes an uncanny crystal clear blue, his hair a beautiful inky colour, he was real, as his love was real. But why did I feel like, I was the hologram in the room, my feelings flimsy and unsure.

"...Love is, just being with you..." Kaito ended, his fingers fiddling with my sheets.

So, for probably the first time in my life, I was at a loss for words. I couldn't help it, his song was beautiful, and tears just pooled in my eyes. I didn't feel very worthy of his sung devotion.

"You don't have to answer you know... I know you like Yuuchun hyung... And I could never be worthy so..." Kaito said softly at my side, till not looking at me.

Wait, what? I backtracked a little at the last part. Never be worthy... His words reflected my thoughts.

I placed my finger on his lips, silencing him, he looked up at me then, my tears falling on his cheeks.

"I made you sad..." he murmured, his fingertips reaching out toward me.

Sighing, I said, "I thought I was the one who wasn't worthy..."

A look of shock passed over his features, "why..."

"Same reason as you I guess...my parents haven't been exactly loving you know..." I laughed stiffly, unwilling to share more.

"Oh...that makes the two of us..." his warm hand brushing away my tears.

"That's why crypton matched us...I guess..."

More silence ensued after that, but it wasn't an awkward one, more like, a quiet revelation between the two of us.

"Sleep?" Kaito questioned, lifting his head off my lap, sliding from my side.

I nodded, "Goodnight," I whispered.

He turned, tilting his head back, "Oyasumi, Nicole."

A small smile, so now...we were equal...I was no longer Nicole-sama... I was finally Nicole...

Xxx

The receptionist glanced at Kaito again, from beneath her lashes, now that he was real (permanently too apparently, since he didn't fade back to hologram like last time), and looking like some idol straight from a magazine cut, it seemed that everyone was flirting with him. I secretly shot the receptionist a dirty look.

"I've called their room but no one has picked up," the lady behind the counter said, blushing...

I nodded briskly, turning to leave and hastily pulling Kaito away, wanting to get him out of her sight. We were getting anxious now, I couldn't get Barzini on his phone, and no one was picking up in their room?

"Nicole," Kaito tugged on my sleeve, "there…" he pointed.

It was...Miku?

I blinked a few times, eyes tracking the girl walking briskly past the glass front doors. She looked like Miku, but her hair wasn't a shocking turquoise colour anymore, like Kaito her hair was toned downed much more and took on a more subdued hue. Her dressing was the one that threw me the most, gone were her silvery wear, and in its place were earthy colours, her bright eyes hidden by a pair of shades. She was Miku and …she wasn't Miku at the same time.

Then Kaito didn't wait anymore, and he dashed out the doors.

I watched for a while through the glass.

Kaito grabbing her by the arm, flicking off her shades. I watched it fall.

Miku looking slightly shocked.

Kaito shaking her at the shoulders, saying something.

Miku shaking her head.

Kaito's shoulders dropping slightly, fists clenched.

Guess that was my cue, I took a breath and stepped out the doors.

"He left," Kaito gritted out.

"Hello, Nicole-san," Miku said politely, her voice completely devoid of emotion.

"Miku-chan…"

"He left her, when she turned real, Nicole," my vocaloid repeated…was he just my vocaloid now? Anyway this wasn't the time to be thinking about that.

I saw Miku's lips tremble a little.

Then I looked around, we were getting stares. Starting this kind of conversation in front of any music agency was never a good idea.

"Let's go," I said, walking away from the agency.

Xxx

We finally ended up in a small café round the corner. The three of us seated in a booth, holding cups of steaming coffee, saying nothing for almost a minute.

"Well…" I started awkwardly.

Kaito was giving off the 'I'm going to kill Barzini' vibe, so I pinned my hopes on Miku saying something.

"It's like Kai-nii said, he left me," Miku said softly, her lips were trembling again, and she bit down this time to still them.

"He'll come back," I said lamely.

"Thanks, Nicole-san," Miku whispered back.

I took a sip of my mocha.

My vocaloid looked like he was going to crush his drink, when he finally said something, "I'm gonna punch him…"

"No!...No…" Miku replied quickly, "Niisan, please…"

That was when Kaito turned his pleading eyes to me, he wanted to do anything and everything to help Miku.

"Is there anything we can do?" I tried.

Miku gave a small smile then, but her voice was rough when she replied, "If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone…"

Well…

I tilted my head to Kaito in a 'let's go' motion. He was torn, I could see it on his face, so he said his last piece before he left, "Okay, but I want your hand phone number first…"

Miku nodded stiffly, and I watched with mild interest as she wrote a string of numbers on a paper napkin.

Kaito picked the paper off the table, and mumbled, "…if you need help, any help, call Nicole…"

I shot him a questioning glance, Kaito obviously hasn't told me about all of this turning real business.

Xxx

So we were walking along the streets of Korea…me and my vocaloid…I was stopped in my thoughts again…stealing a glance from the corner of my eye, what was Kaito to me? Definitely not just a vocaloid…well…he was a friend…a boyfriend? Lover?!

I stopped in my tracks, I stared at Kaito's back, I watched it move further away from me, then stop, then turn, and then he looked back.

"Nicole? Are you okay?"

"Eh…yea…I perfectly fine~"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you everything…but I will now…" he held out his hand toward me.

And I took his hand of course, and we walked together, somehow ending up at a park. I looked around, hyperaware of our linked hands, when I noticed that mostly couples surrounded us.

"Miku would have a phone with her because Crypton told us if we were to fall out of the voca plane for any reason we have to acquire a hand phone, and dial a number," Kaito said out of the blue.

"So you have to get one too?"

"Yes."

But I was curious about one thing, "Where did Miku get the money from?"

"Eh…um…emergency money?" Kaito flustered a little.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Yea…I have some," he said sheepishly.

All this time he could have been buying his own ice cream…

"What's this number you have to dial?" I steered us toward a bench and sat down.

"Crypton's direct hotline."

"Whoa, so what do you need to tell them?" I asked, even though I had a feeling where this would go.

"The only reason why we would need a phone is in the event that we turn real we would have to call, if you remember I told you that none of us believed it at that time, but look what happened now…"

"Yea…" I murmured, it was still amazing that Kaito was real, I squeezed his hand.

He squeezed back.

"I suppose we should call then, you can use my phone right?"

"I think so…"

I fished my phone out of my bag, I hadn't looked at it since last night…one glance at the screen.

_5 missed calls_

_35 whatsapp from 9 conversations_

Kaito peered over at the small phone screen. I opened my whatsapp first.

_Mai:_

_Hello._

_Luka sa…IS MIKU GONE?_

_ASK KAITO TO CHECK!_

_Kaito is gone too…did he…D:_

_That was Luka btw…_

_Karina:_

_How is it going?_

_The assignment is crap! (Two days to write a proposal?!)_

_Len says Kaito and Miku are missing?! Did you lose him again?!_

_Or did they…!_

_ELOPE?!_

_Jk jk…_

_But really…what's going on…Len's been acting strange…_

_Allen:_

_Dear Nicole, I hope you are doing fine with your assignment, Haku tells me that Kaito and Miku are gone? Any idea? – Allen_

_Yukina:_

_Nicole! I need some help in choosing which pocky to use in a commercial I'm shooting._

_Piko is mumbling about something is missing…do you think he's sick?_

_Hannah:_

_Heyy…I think Korean sake is pretttyyy goooodd…I recommend…_

_Zhengyi:_

_Arghh…the assignment…why is it 35% of our grades!_

_Neru's been getting worse and worse!_

_She's constantly getting agitated about something…_

_Michelle:_

_Good to have a Korean speaker with me…_

_SeeU recommends you try the patbingsu_

_Nya~ SeeU here~ Kaito ish okay yesh nya? :3_

_Amy:_

_-Hops- How was your first day?_

_I'm_

_So_

_Excited_

_We_

_Are_

_In_

_Korea!_

_:D_

_Amoz:_

_Yo!_

_What was your assignment?_

_Rin here! Amoz finally gave me the phone…bleh_

_Kai-nii there?_

"Looks like they noticed," I commented, "well, most of them noticed…"

Kaito nodded, "Aki is too young and Meiko too drunk to realise probably..."

Then I scrolled through the whatsapp messages again, and replied to each one something along the lines of...yea the assignment is crappy! And Kaito is okay. Oh, and I recommended rum and raisin pocky to Yukina.

It felt superficial, but I didn't want to share that Kaito was real too quickly, and I wanted to know what Crypton had to say first.

I opened by missed calls logs next, three calls from Karina, one from Mai and one from Yuuchun.

Yuuchun? I instinctively, open the call log, my thumb hovering over the call button, when I remembered…

"It's okay, call back," Kaito nudged me, a nudge that I could feel, looked up, there…there it was plain in his eyes. He didn't want me calling anyone…

I moved my finger down, and pressed the back button instead, pivoting the phone toward him.

"You call first," I said firmly.

"Okay," he didn't argue, didn't question, he only simply took the phone from me.

I stared off into the distance, as I heard the person on the other side of the line pick up almost immediately.

My ice cream loving partner, talked for a while. Then a soft tap on my shoulder, "he wants to talk to you…"

I brought the phone to my ear.

"Hello, Miss Nicole."

"Hello," I said back cautiously.

"Congratulations," came the reply, though from his tone he sounded more informative than congratulatory.

"For what?" I asked.

"You did it, you and Barzini, you accomplished the mission that Crypton set." The man continued.

I kept quiet, if anything I was even more confused.

"You and Barzini were the first to be admitted into the school right? We never expected results so fast. The board is scrambling…" He rambled on.

"What are you talking about?" I said quietly.

"You managed to teach your vocaloid-"

"Kaito," I cut him off.

"Okay, Kaito, you managed to teach Kaito emotions. Specifically, the most powerful emotion, love. As a result he turned real, as I'm sure he would have somewhat explained to you already. We have tried to teach them emotions through other means like watching TV programs and reading books, even providing a real life stimulation program in one of our production facilities but all of it didn't work. But with you two it was successful." The man on the other side of the line said all that rapidly.

"So, what happens now?" I was trying to be rational and process what the man just said, while half my brain was screaming 'why didn't you tell us this would happen earlier!'

"Don't worry, we will call you back soon to tell you the plan of action, good-"

"Wait!" I shouted.

"Yes?"

"How's Miku?" I said.

"Miku? Isn't she with Barzini?"

Crypton really didn't know anything huh…

"Barzini is not with her now. He freaked out."

"Thank you for informing us, Miss Nicole, we will see to it, thank you," the man said, he sounded a little more concerned now.

He hung up.

"Thank you for asking about Miku," Kaito murmured.

"Yea, Crypton said that they will call back as to what to do next."

The phone started ringing then, the screen flashed the name…'Yuuchun'.

"Answer it," Kaito said.

So I did.

"Nicole!" Yuuchun's voice came though, his tone urgent, "we need you back in the company for a special training course."

"Huh…"

"I know it's late but it's regarding your assignment as well, hurry back."

"Okay, I'll be there in 30 minutes," I told him.

Things were quickly spinning out of control, I squeezed Kaito's hand.

And he pulled me in for a hug, there I stayed for a while.

Xxx

The special course consisted of a short course on filming and learning the camera angles of the people who the company had already decided would be the actor in my music video, they chose Junsu. Crypton had apparently already called the company about my now real Kaito, which I'm not sure if they really got it or not, because they seemed pretty unfazed by it and just ran with it.

After that the week flew by, I picked a song from Junsu's repertoire and submitted my rough proposal for my project to the CEO. Miku never called. Barzini never returned any of calls either. Crypton…well they were sure slow on their decisions.

I was kept busy, deciding lighting and costume changes (which I left up to Kaito in the end), did I need green screens or not, how many cameras I needed, all I did was constantly run around, telling people what to do. Finally I decided on the outdoor location I would use, simple and impactful, with the first half sung acapella and just the sound of nature to express the mood of the song.

Everything was ready, when a day before the shoot, Crypton called.

"Hello, Miss Nicole."

"Hello," I said, checking my watch for the date, it had been four days since Kaito first called them.

"We are sorry for the late reply, we have rushed and lined up everyone's schedule and everyone is done with onsite shooting, thus due to the unforeseen circumstance of Kaito and Miku turning real, Crypton has arranged for everyone to go back to Singapore tomorrow night, where we can better handle the situation." The person explained.

That explained why the project was forcefully rushed. I didn't like the sound of how they were going to handle the situation either. And what about my hard work put into the project so far, I wasn't prepared to hand it over so easily.

"What about the grading and assignment?" I asked.

"The School of Music has granted a week long editing period with the material that you have before final submission for grading. Also Miss Nicole, we have a favour to ask of you."

"A favour?" What could they possibly want?

"Yes, we would like to put Miku in your care, as Barzini's particular project requires him to stay an extra few days." The man said straightforwardly.

"Wait what…"

"Yes, we chose you for the convenience that your dorm and Barzini's dorm is easily accessible due to a hole?" The way he said the whole sentence with a lilt at the end showed that he wasn't even sure if we had a hole between our rooms.

"Anyway, that will be all, the ticket back to Singapore is now at C-Jes admin office, we will see you back in Singapore, goodbye."

The line went dead.

And I wanted to kick something. I kicked the chair, not very effective.

I picked up my phone from the charging block, and stabbed out Barzini's number.

And he picked up…finally!

"Hi," he said.

"You!" I shouted, then I took a breath, "where did you go?"

"Around…doing my project."

"And Miku what happened to her! What is this about not coming back with the rest of us?" I burst.

"Well…Miku is staying in the dorm now, I think."

"You think!" I exclaimed.

"Me leaving means she gets the place right?"

I wanted to scream a huge 'No' into the phone.

He continued, "Anyway, I need some time alone, like a small break from the whole vocaloid thing." He told me. He's telling me the almost the exact same thing Miku told me four days go…oh man…crypton had an uncanny way of matching people, it was creepy.

"Ulgh!" I groaned, if he was like this, what could I do? This stubborn nature something that I couldn't win against. "Can't you just accept that she's real!" I tried anyway.

He didn't say anything.

"Anyway, Crypton just… let you take an extension?" I demanded.

"Hey…it's part of my assignment too okay."

"Fine! Just so you know, I'll be taking care of Miku while you're on 'holiday'," I hoped my tone of voice conveyed my feelings.

"Yea…Oh okay. And ah…" he paused liked he was going to say something, and then all I got was, "Nevermind."

"You owe me! And I can tell you this for sure, Kaito is not going to give Miku back to you that easily."

"Fine, and you can tell that Bakaito to mind his own business." Barzini retorted.

"He's not called Bakaito…he's Kaito!" I retorted back.

"Mhm…sure sure, well see you back in Singapore," he told me.

"Bye." I said, too tired to argue, I threw the phone on the bed.

"Hey. So we're taking care of Miku." Kaito commented, while setting the chair I kicked back into the right position, and steering me into it.

"You seem to be taking this quite well." I felt him come from behind and rest his chin on my shoulder.

"Oh I'm…angry…" he held out his closed fists for me, knuckles turning white at how hard he clenched them, "…but I figured you didn't need to see that now," Kaito ended.

I leaned in to him, and said, "Oh…being a mature now huh…"

"Hmph…just trying not to add on to your stress," he positively pouted…ah…it was even cuter real.

"Please…let's just bust out the ice cream," I said teasingly.

"Really?" Kaito was trying not to sound too excited.

"Yes, really." I felt him move to our little kitchen corner, I smiled a little, we could both use a treat.

Xxx

I barely slept last night, the sugar kept me up, but it was worth it to be high and happy, even if it was just for a while, Kaito was being funny all night, getting ice cream everywhere, oh we busted out the soda and made floats too. I loved him so much. Yea, love him, I'll figure the rest of it after the music video shoot.

I turned my attention to the camera screen.

"Okay, Junsu-sshi, just like we practiced, the shoot will purely showcase your voice, you'll walk from there," I pointed to a marker, "to here, and you'll stand in the middle of the prop arrangement, the camera will rotate around you and in-between the props."

Junsu nodded his understanding, I made sure to use the translator so it was clear, and then we started.

The difficultly of shooting just one continuous take for a music video, one mistake and we had to start again. Not only that of course, lightings and angles were also much harder to shoot outdoors, and I wanted the most options to choose for the final editing.

"Okay break then last take! Can we have makeup please," I called out, and watched as Junsu was rushed to the tent to have his touch up, now I was battling daylight, we only had enough time to shoot one more.

"Here." Something cold and wet hit the side of my cheek. I yelped, nearly falling out of my chair.

Turning around I glared at the scarf wearing man, who was laughing. I reached back and slapped him on the shoulder. At least, he was trying to stop himself from laughing now.

"Drink," Kaito told me, holding out the iced green tea properly.

"Tsk." I turned back to face the set, smiling like an idiot to myself.

The last take was the best take, everyone focused and we had the shot, complete with the crickets who cooperated and didn't try to drown out Junsu.

"That's a wrap, guys, thanks for the hard work," I murmured to the staff, bowing as I went along and hopping into the van to take us back to Seoul.

"Thanks for your hard work," Kaito said to me, handing me a box of pocky.

"Man, you guys are really into it huh…" Junsu popped up from behind us suddenly.

"Mhm…" I mumbled noncommittally and just munched my pocky.

Junsu shook his head and laughed, "You'll be leaving tonight?"

"Looks like it," I replied.

"Hope to see you around soon then, it was fun working with you," he told me.

"Thanks, it was fun."

Xxx

Last few hours in Korea…

After dropping Junsu off at his house, Kaito and I were whisked to the airport.

Where I was glomped by Karina.

And for Kaito…really…it was an awkward moment.

"Kaito!" Luka ran toward him, and then she stopped.

"So, you really?...turned…" she stared for a while, speechless.

Kaito shrugged, "I guess…"

"Wait wait, that means that I can…" Luka went into a bit of a daze.

"Kai-nii," Rin said, in awe.

"Dude, you are seriously real," Amoz, poked him in the shoulder.

"How? How did you do it?" Len demanded.

"Technically, it was only a hypothesis, it shouldn't have been possible…" Piko started on his techie ramble. Haku was just nodding in tandem with him.

"Well, it just…um…happened…" Kaito said.

Then Miku walked in, without Barzini of course, looking very fragile, dressed to the current korean fashion.

"Miku-chan," Aki quipped, running toward the twin-tailed girls and throwing her arms around her, only to find herself passing through Miku.

Aki frowned, and ran back to Amy's side, "But I was quite sure it was Miku-chan," Aki said.

"So, she turned too huh," Neru said in a bored tone, trying not to sound too impressed?

I could see the look on Zhengyi's face, furiously trying to wrap his head around this, and then I saw the look of realisation cross his face, if Neru turned real…katana must have been the only thing in his head right now.

"R-real…" I heard Meiko mutter behind me, I felt my skin crawl, when she sneaks up on people like that…downright creepy.

Meiko stumbled forward, her hands coming up to Kaito's face, fingers poised to pinch his cheeks.

And when she failed, she called back to Hannah, "Yep! Real all right!"

I sighed, couldn't imagine the news we'd make back home, vocaloids turning real…

And then there were the matters of the heart when it came to Miku and Barzini.

That Barzini…tsk…he so owes me.

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>-Peeks-<strong>

**Hi…ah haha…yea…I was erm…busy…and I don't really know why but writing this chapter was harder than writing any of the other chapters for this fic…T T I do hope you enjoyed it though.**

**If anyone is interested, the MV that was featured in this chapter is Junsu's 11am.**

**So, thank you for reading and sticking by I'm sure Barzini is ready to uh…write...I think…Are you ready Barzini?**

**Anyway, mata ne minna~**

**Barzini: SO SHE GOT AROUND TO IT YAYYYY. Mine should be out soon :) So stay tuned aight!?**


	30. Chapter 30

I thumbed through the pages of drafts in my assignment – All the songs were not really working out well. I put down my assignment and sighed – Was I going to fail this semester?

Due to my sudden collapse of mental thinking the other day, I resigned my commission from LOEN, with this assignment now becoming, not a client project, but a personal one. I submit it to Crypton, and that's done.

Feeling my phone buzz, I take a look at it – It's an unfamiliar number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Barzini?"

"Who is this?"

"This is Crypton's Centre of Research and Development. We would like to discuss your current circumstances."

"There isn't much to discuss, is there?"

A short pause on the other end.

"Not really. No."

"Then why are you calling?"

The caller took a deep breath and I heard the flipping of sheets of paper. It sounded as if he was trying his best to be patient and understanding. Nicole didn't get it. All of my whole group of friends did not get it.

They seemed so excited at the possibility of something unreal, becoming real.

Things like this just don't happen overnight. They aren't even alive.

The caller took a deep breath before continuing.

"Your friends and their vocaloids have landed in Singapore, with Miku and Kaito having gone for psychiatric evaluation."

I did not reply. I allowed him to continue. As much as I appear nonchalant, I still had a thirst for information. It is a lie to say that I did not care about Miku's well-being in the slightest.

"Miku is showing signs of depression. We are hoping you can help her. She will definitely be much better if you can."

My heart sinks a little. The words get stuck in my throat.

_Yes. Yes. I want to tell her that I am sorry._

"No. I'm afraid it is not possible." I croaked, coughing and repeating myself for fear of being not clear enough.

"Is that decision final?"

Tears were welling up in my eyes. I stood up and looked out the window – Couples in the streets, holding hands. I sigh and sit down on my bed.

"I will return to Singapore after the submission of my assignment. Please give me a bit of time. I have questions for you, however?"

A short pause on the other end.

"I will do my best to answer you."

"How did she… How did she become real?"

"Barzini, the strongest emotion in this world is love. The issue is that our artificial intelligence is top-of-the-line, where our AI is able to achieve awareness, much-like your typical doomsday environment. As much as Crypton has… Attempted to teach them love, their system was always unable to recognize it."

Something suddenly dawned on me.

"I get it – So you decide to come up with this project, as in pairing vocaloids with human companions to teach them camaraderie and love?"

"More or less. To put it simply, yes."

"I see… Crypton must be laughing their way to the bank soon. Every child in the world would want a vocaloid."

"Then why not you?"

I froze. My heart seemed to skip a beat. I chose to ignore that statement.

"We ask that you watch the announcement tomorrow. And good luck for your assignment, Barzini."

_Click._

I sat down, my heart heavy and fighting back tears. It was as if a huge fight had erupted in my heart – The words that I could not say all came out.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." I wept, clutching my head in my hands, rocking back and forth on my bed. Lying down, I looked at the crushed piece of paper for the pepero song – It was complete though not to my expectation.

Whatever. My grades can take the blow anyway.

I don't know how long it took but I drifted off to sleep.

Xxx

"Mhm…" I struggled up at the sound of the alarm.

Oh right, the announcement.

Sitting up, I closed my eyes for a moment to clear my head, before heading over to the laptop and turning on the Crypton Live Broadcasting Service.

A press conference.

There was a man with a receding hairline at the podium speaking Japanese – He sounded proud and happy. After a good twenty minutes of talking, he clapped and everyone in the room clapped.

Yay. Clap.

Miku and Kaito proceeded to appear on the stage, Kaito was smiling shyly but Miku managed something more of a grimace. I looked at her intently, and a surge of emotions went through me. Why was I feeling like this? This is an awful feeling…

After much fun-fair and photography, they were about to leave the stage when an egg flew across the conference area and struck Miku in the back of her head.

My eyes flew open as I grabbed the screen of my laptop, shaking it – She appeared to be in shock as she hurriedly left the stage.

I closed my laptop and dumped it into my bag. Taking a deep breath, I redialed the number of the R&D that called me the previous day.

"I want to go back to Singapore. Today."

Xxx

That familiar glass dome was in view again. Where the entire Crypton academy was located. I got out of the taxi and to my surprise, there was a huge crowd surrounding the glass dome. I took a casual look at one of the placards one of them was holding – _NO TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE_

"Hrm." I said, remarking my casual interest. Security had cleared a way for entrance to the academy and I quickly walked in, covering my head with my bag just in case.

To my surprise, Michelle and SeeU were there, staring at the crowd.

"Oh hey!" I said, waving to the both of them.

"Ooh~ Barzini-ssi~!" SeeU chimed, waving at me while Michelle forced a smile of sorts.

"Hey! Where is Miku?" I said, trying my best to put up a poker face.

Michelle shrugged, her head turning to the direction of the dormitory, then widening her eyes and looking at the dormitory again. Was she under some sort of oath to deny Miku?

"I see. Thanks for nothing." I said, playing along. Michelle laughed while SeeU seemed confused.

"I'll buy you lots of fish if you tell me where Miku is." I said, bending down to SeeU, though I already knew where Miku was. I rather Michelle not received the blame – SeeU was a bit ditzy, so if I could trick it out of her, it would be much easier.

"Can you buy me more than two cans of salmon?" SeeU said, as her eyes tensed, as if there was a raging battle of conscience inside her.

"Four. I promise, by the Old Gods and the New."

"Dormitory!" SeeU chirped happily – So much for conscience eh?

"Thanks, SeeU! See you!" I said, walking towards the dormitory.

As I passed a cosmetic jewelry shop, I stopped by it, spotting another group of familiar people.

"Hello there, you filthy peasants." I said, and the group turned to me in surprise, before Hannah threw me a hug while Yukina gave me a good pat on the shoulder – Their vocaloids were grinning a little.

"We knew you'd come back." Meiko said, her face slightly red. Was that from the embarrassment of saying the statement or was it another night of drinking?

"I know. Help me pick out something nice, all of you ladies."

As we spent some time in the store, none of us explicitly mentioned Miku's name – The closest it came to that was Piko saying, "She's really pretty now – I think you'd be thrilled."

Without saying much, I bought a necklace and left the shop, continuing my way to the dormitory. It was uneventful – However, the dormitory was huge. If everyone was in on the plan, there has to be a weak link.

With that, I called Neru and Zhengyi down. Neru was furious when she saw me, waving her holographic katana through me while Zhengyi looked unpleasant as well.

"Sit." I gestured to the both of them, sitting in the lobby.

"Look. Tell me where Miku is. I am here to make amends."

"Over my dead body." Neru growled, while Zhengyi actually snorted.

"If you don't tell me, Zhengyi, I am sending a message to Hannah right now, telling her that you like her." I said, taking out my phone.

Zhengyi froze, his eyes wide with terror.

"W-Wait… You can't do that…"

"Why not?" I replied, while Neru was staring at Zhengyi in shock.

"Is this for real?" Neru whispered, and I nodded.

"You have exactly, 5 minutes to dec- Wait no, 10 seconds."

Just then, Karina walked by with Len, and the two seemed thrilled to see me – From what I gather, the clique has been divided into two sides who firmly believe in whether or not I will come back.

"5 seconds left, Zhengyi."

"What's going on? Why the time limit?" Karina said excitedly, apparently thrilled that I have leverage on him.

I then proceeded to text Allen and Haku, who both came down.

"Hey." I said, smiling brightly at the two.

The two smiled back simultaneously, a small, shy smile.

"Allen, I was telling Zhengyi here that if he did not tell me where Miku was, I would tell his crush about his feelings for her. The same offer goes to you, Allen."

Karina's jaw fell open while Allen looked as if I had shoved kimchi into his nostrils.

"Y-You… You can't do that!" Allen said, obviously flustered.

"Why not? Fair's fair, isn't it?"

"You got such a reaction from the constant pool of melancholy…" Karina and Len said in awe.

Haku looked hurt – But if they spilt Miku's location, it will be fine.

"Kaito's room. He has his own room now." Allen said, and I nodded, shaking his hand.

"Haku, Allen likes you." I said, and he freezes up, as I walk to the counter to register my room again and to check where Kaito's room is.

I decide to head there straight away.

In front of the door, I feel paralyzed, as if I am unable to react.

"You can do this…" I mutter, as I knock against the door.

No response.

I stand in silence before knocking again, more persistently.

The door opened, slowly, with a creak. And I see the same pair of eyes that was filled with tears the other day when she turned – It seems as if she had only opened enough to see that someone was at the door but not enough to see who it was.

"Who is it?" Miku's voice came out, barely a whisper.

I put my hand through the cracks and with my shoulder pushed it open. Miku stumbled back, in shock, her eyes widening as she realizes who it is.

"Oh. Hi…" She managed, before looking down at the ground.

"Hi." I said, taking out the necklace and hiding it behind my back before putting down my bag and closing the door behind me. Kaito wasn't home, it seems.

"I'm sorry." We said at the same time. I was surprised.

"Why are you apologizing?" I asked.

"I'm sorry I existed." Miku said, her head still lowered, but she was trembling now.

My heart seemed to feel as if it shattered into a million pieces. I moved to hold her shoulders and I took a deep breath, holding back my own tears.

"Please don't. Don't do that." I said, while taking out the necklace and I put it around her neck.

"What's this?" Miku whispered.

"My first present to you." I said, pushing her hair behind her ears and wiping her tears off her eyes. She looked thoroughly confused. I leaned in and kissed her.

My heart felt a warmth and she gave a squeak of surprise, resisting at first before giving in to the feeling. It wasn't anything passionate – Just a confirmation of our feelings for one another.

After what seemed like several minutes, our lips finally parted.

"I love you. Please date me."

Miku burst into tears after hearing that and she threw herself into my chest while I stroked her hair. I felt truly happy.

"Women in real life get ugly if they cry too much." I said, patting her back.

"You're mean! Just let me cry!" Miku wailed, pounding my chest.

It was at this point the door flew open and I felt a blow on my head. Miku shrieked. Barely regaining my balance, I made out that the person who assaulted me was Kaito.

"Stop! Kaito!" Miku screamed, grabbing Kaito's sleeves. I stood up and threw a punch at Kaito's gut and he doubled over. Looks like his tolerance of pain as a human being is not high yet.

"Wait wait! Don't fight!" Miku now said, lovingly. What kind of double act was this woman playing!? I threw myself on Kaito.

Xxx

"Here you go." Nicole said, holding out an ice pack. Taking it from Nicole, Miku glared at her before dumping it on my head.

"Ouch! Gently!" I yelled and Miku recoiled, taking the ice pack that was on my bump of my head and dropping it gently on my head. Why did she even have to drop it? It hurt.

"You do it like this." I said to Miku, taking the ice pack and gently _putting _it on my head.

Nicole however, was now engaged in placing a hot towel on Kaito's wrist which had been twisted by me. By all accounts, the more veteran human has emerged victorious.

"So, the two of you are okay now?" Nicole said, pointing at Miku and I. Miku responded with a kiss on my cheek. I felt as if I had fallen through the sky in happiness, a happy sinking feeling rises in me.

Haku and Zhengyi stumbled into the corridor where we were seated – Haku had apparently joined the _You're real _club. However, I noticed that their clothes were a bit disheveled and Zhengyi smelled exactly the same as Haku. I pretend not to notice though I could not suppress a grin.

"What next, dear?" Miku asked me, fondling with the necklace that I've given her.

"One step at a time. Are you happy?"

Miku smiled and nodded.

"Don't be. Life is long and hard. We may not be together forever, but I'll be with you for as long as I can." I smiled and closed my eyes to rest. Apart from the distant yelling of the protests, the peace was good. And my heart was happy.

That's all that mattered.

Xxx

_Eight years later…_

"Barzini! Wake up!"

The same drill every morning. I groan and sit up in my bed, with Miku squatting down beside my bed, looking at me, holding a plate of food.

"I swear. If there's leeks again. I will. Break up with you."

"I promise!" Miku smiled.

There has always been leeks and I never went through with my promise of breaking up with her.

After graduating, all of us went our own ways. All of our vocaloids became real eventually.

Nicole had a love for music and Yoochun (and Kaito), and went to Korea to be a lyricist. Neru and Zhengyi got married, went on to France's countryside to live a quiet and peaceful life (they do send us bottles of wine, now and then) while Karina and Len joined the media industry as producer and assistant producer respectively.

Mai and Luka went on to found their own dating agency which has seen its share of success. Yukina and Piko joined the marketing agency of an electrical appliance company and won lucrative contracts because of Piko (Of course he lost the electrical cable tail, but he is still seen as an electrical plug to a lot of fans).

Everyone else? Well…

"Tell me, who is my co-lecturer for the first lesson on Vocaloid Behaviour? It's a new semester." I said, and Miku looked through my timetable.

"You are lecturing with Haku." She said.

No one in Crypton wanted to accept Miku as a lecturer. She tries too hard and ended up scaring a girl with her smile and made her cry – So she ended up being a counselor instead.

As I see my lover sit down and watch TV, I put my arm around her and hugged her from behind and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, thanks for everything."

Miku looked at me and smiled, before turning back to the TV.

Vocaloids. It is a wonderful reality.

Xxx

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Well. It is finished. Concluded. After the longest time, this is the final chapter in the series, concluding at 30 chapters. On other news, this final chapter is a promise I made to Nicole that I would finish it today – And I did.<strong>

**Nicole is sure to be thrilled... And I hope this chapter marks a good read for all of you, and herself – As I am aware she is following this chapter with a secret account.**

**Will I ever write again? Definitely – On here? Maybe or maybe not. I've been thinking about writing a blog full of stories – I've gotten into visual novels recently, such as Grisaia and AIR. If all of you would like to enjoy more of work, just leave a review stating your interest, and I would personally message all of you!**

**Happy belated new year! May it bring you much more goodness.**


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